Collar Robber by Hilary Bell Locke

September 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment

COLLAR
Collar Robber by Hilary Bell Locke
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (296 pgs)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

How can you make money from a painting that you don’t own, can’t steal, and couldn’t fence even if you succeeded? What if you convince people you already had stolen it?

An assortment of shady and brutal players in Collar Robber think that—leaving a corpse or two along the way—they can use that bright idea to gouge fifty-million dollars from Jay Davidovich’s employer, Transoxana Insurance Company. Davidovich, first met in 2012’s Jail Coach, is a Loss Prevention Specialist. Fifty million would be a good loss to prevent.
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Cynthia Jakubek from But Remember Their Names has jumped from the gilded drudgery of lawyering with a big Wall Street firm to the terrifying adventure of starting her own solo practice in Pittsburgh. One of her clients wants to help Davidovich—for a hefty price—and stay alive in the process. Another wants to get married in the Catholic Church to a fiancée who was briefly wed years before to someone who now has an interest in the painting. An annulment is needed.

As Davidovich and Jakubek face brawls on street corners and in court rooms, confrontations in brothels, confessionals, and Yankee Stadium luxury suites, and Tasers, machine guns, and religious vestments used as weapons, they have to remember that “take no prisoners” isn’t always a metaphor…

When an original painting and fifty million dollars hang in the balance, unlikely partnerships are bound to form. What will those pairings be? The insurance company and the Church? Or the lawyer and the criminal? By the time it all works itself out, it could be all of these and more. But who will come out on top and will the painting ever be safe from those who want it? Only time and a lot of intrigue will tell.

Cynthia Jakubek is a woman worth admiring. She had it all – a great job on Wall Street for a major law firm and the insane pay to go with it – and gave it all up to be able to chase the bad guys and have her day in court. For her, it was more about results than the money and she happily took a giant cut in pay in order to get out from under the thumb of the bigger lawyers and be able to do more than grunt work. She’s scrappy, determined, and takes no prisoners. I love a strong, feisty female lead and Jakubek is just that.

Jay Davidovich is pure muscle and knows how to use each and every one. Working loss-prevention for Transoxana Insurance Company, he gets to put it to good use on a regular basis. I’m not entirely sure why, but Jay was my favorite character in this novel. His tough exterior is present right up until he starts thinking about his wife, Rachel, and then he turns into a giant teddy bear. He’d be the idea kind of guy to have on your side. Intelligent and dangerous, he also has a soft side to match it.

This novel left me feeling rather torn. The story itself is well written and intense, yet, I still found myself confused more often than not. I think that, for me, there may have been too many characters, some of which you only get a cursory introduction to, leaving you without any decent way of remembering their purpose. About halfway through the novel, however, I began to figure out who was who and what their jobs were and it became easier to follow. Although, despite my initial confusion and lack of understanding, Collar Robber is an intricate and complex story that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

High Country Nocturne by John Talton

September 9, 2015 By Leave a Comment

NOCTURNE
High Country Nocturne by John Talton
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (317 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

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He’s a private eye with a partner. He’s an ex-cop and his partner is an ex-sheriff. They know their stuff. They’re doing pretty good at the new business.  So why would his partner steal diamonds?

This author is very good at creating suspense and confusion in his story. Everyone seems to be lying. Many are playing both sides. The new sheriff is manipulating him and he doesn’t even like him. The picture Mr. Talton paints is bleak, nasty, and evil. You have the Russian mafia, crooked politicians, bad FBI agents and more. The only one who is what he claims to be is David Mapstone, the main character.

They have video of Peralta shooting the other guard and racing away with the diamonds. David still doesn’t think Mike was stealing them for himself; he thinks its undercover assignment.  Nobody is being totally honest. A dead body from long ago is brought to David’s attention now. He was the one who found it as a rookie cop. Why it’s being brought up now is odd. As if he wasn’t busy enough trying to find his partner and get the truth from him, his wife gets in trouble. There’s enough stress in this story I’m surprised the characters lived through it.

This is a story with a lot of conflicts, a lot of side stories, a complicated plot and diamonds that were stolen from the FBI evidence room. You know not everyone will get out alive. The ending surprised me and I’m not entirely certain that it seemed like justice wasn’t served.  But all-in-all, the story was very good and ended as happily as could be expected.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Magician’s Daughter by Judith Janeway

April 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment

DAUGHTER
The Magician’s Daughter by Judith Janeway
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (227 pgs)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Magician Valentine Hill always introduces her act by announcing Reality is an illusion. Illusion is reality, and nothing is what it seems. When Valentine is reunited with her grifter mother, nothing is what it seems becomes true in real life. A wealthy socialite turns out to be a ruthless criminal, a car mechanic a psycho killer, and a cab driver a seductive gangster. When an FBI agent who’d befriended her is killed, Valentine takes on the hated role of a con artist to get evidence to put the criminals away. Will her skills as a magician prove enough to help her maintain the illusion?

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This is the first book in a new mystery series and it’s off to a nice start. I like the fact that Valentine knows magic. It means she’s good at observing, sleight of hand, and more. She’s a character that grows on you. She’s almost like a ghost: She has no ID, no social security card, and no birth certificate. She can’t work a traditional job. She’s following her mother to change that. But she’s not the only one following her.

I also liked Rico. He’s a bit strange, always seems to be there when she needs him, and he’s more than he seems. I hope he’ll be in future stories with Valentine.

This is a well thought story that has Valentine trying to run a con on her mother and the man she lives with. Her current flame is a scammer himself but on a much larger scale. He’s so big the FBI is after him. There were times when I wondered whether Valentine would even survive. She’s in danger from more sources than her hand has fingers, so author has to do a very careful balancing act here.

When you start reading, you don’t stop. The story moves fast, there are odd situations all through it, and Valentine keeps rolling with the punches. Magic even plays its part in this story. I found it to be a very good read and will be watching for the next one in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Wolf and the Lamb by Frederick Ramsay

February 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

WOLF
The Wolf and the Lamb by Frederick Ramsay
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (314 pgs)
Rated: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

It s Passover. Gamaliel, and his physician friend, Loukas, are crime-solving a third time reluctantly. Pontius Pilate has been accused of murder. He denies the crime. If convicted, he might escape death but would be removed from Judea. Those rejoicing urge the Rabban to mind his own business. But Gamaliel is a Just Man which is, as Pilate points out, your weakness and also your strength. Knowing that exonerating the Roman could cost him his position, possibly his life, Gamaliel, as would Sherlock Holmes centuries later, examines evidence and sorts through tangled threads, teasing out suspects who include assassins, Roman nobles, Pilate s wife, rogue legionnaires, slaves, servants, thespians, and a race horse named Pegasus. Unusually, justice triumphs over enmity. Gamaliel is satisfied, High Priest Caiphas is irate, Loukas accepts an apprentice from Tarsus, and few notice the events of what will later be known as Easter. Ramsay s plausible narrative answers some questions which have puzzled Biblical scholars for centuries. Why did Pilate hear the case against Jesus? Why invent a tradition that required one prisoner be released at Passover? Having done so, why offer the most terrifying criminal in the country, Barabbas, as the substitute for Jesus when two better, less dangerous prisoners were at hand? And we ask, why could Caiphas not heed Gamaliel s warnings not to martyr the man?

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The famed cast of characters, including Pontious Pilate himself in a headlining role, add significantly the historic aura evoked here. Ramsay brings us the city of Jerusalem and shows us, up close, the lives of the people while occupied by the Romans. The religious happenings of the day–the rumors, concerns about this man in Galilee–as well as the everyday duties of various levels of citizen, all add to the backdrop here.

Yet, intriguing as the backdrop is (and it is! My one complaint is my wish to see more… a tiny bit more…) it is the mystery that stars. Familiar ‘detective,’ Gamaliel, local Rabban, is called by none other than the prefect, Pilate himself, when the prefect is (so he claims) falsely accused of murder. Although Gamaliel owes nothing to the prefect, and in fact, might prefer to see him fall, Pilate rightly assures him that he is ‘too just’ and ‘too righteous’ to allow such an injustice. Oh, we see into Gamaliel’s own psyche in some of these moments.

Gamaliel’s investigation would do a contemporary detective proud; he pursues facts logically; consulting with those he trusts.  Suspicious where he needs to be, for the most part. We see a plain motive from the start, but, we too have seen that the obvious killer is not the one. There is both intrigue and danger, and while not suspenseful in the thriller way, there is a steady increase in tension.

Ramsay brings us a vision of a life–and lives–woven into the intriguing pursuit of injustice. The Wolf and the Lamb is a wonderful, thought-provoking, and enjoyable read. While mystery fans will love it,  you won’t need to be a mystery fan to find this completely intriguing.

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Risky Undertaking-A Buryin’ Barry Mystery by Mark de Castrique

December 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment

bARRY
Risky Undertaking-A Buryin’ Barry Mystery by Mark de Castrique
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (251 pgs)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

When Cherokee burial remains are unearthed on the site expanding a local cemetery, the dual occupations of Barry Clayton, part-time deputy and fulltime undertaker, collide. Then, during the interment of the wife of one of Gainesboro, North Carolina’s most prominent citizens, Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther leads a protest. Words and fists fly. When Panther turns up executed on the grave of the deceased woman, Barry is forced to confront her family as the chief suspects. But the case lurches in a new direction with the arrival of Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkin’s army pal, Boston cop Kevin Malone. He’s on the trail of a Boston hit man who arrived at the Cherokee reservation only days before the murder. Malone is convinced his quarry is the triggerman. But who paid him? And why? The accelerating investigation draws Barry onto the reservation where Panther’s efforts to preserve Cherokee traditions threatened the development of a new casino, a casino bringing millions of dollars of construction plus huge yearly payouts to every member of the tribe. Leading an unlikely team –his childhood nemesis Archie Donovan and his elderly fellow undertaker Uncle Wayne –Barry goes undercover. But the stakes are higher than he realized in this risky undertaking. And the life of a Cherokee boy becomes the wager. Barry must play his cards very carefully .

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Lead character, Barry Clayton, is part-time deputy and also a full-time undertaker which makes for some interesting reading. He’s likeable and I enjoyed some of his wit and the way he interacted with other characters who sometimes stole the show from him.

I especially liked the storyline about preserving Cherokee traditions and how the plot involving the building of a casino seemed to tie everything together. The author does a wonderful job giving you a sense of place. Dialogue was sometimes downright funny, and the pacing is fast so you find yourself half way through the book without realizing it.

What I liked best about this book was its originality. I read lots of mysteries and I think Mr. de Castrique put a new spin on what could have turned into an overdone plotline. However, I think of this one as a hybrid of sorts, part cozy, part police procedure and I think the author pulled it off.

If you’re looking for something a little different, like small town settings peppered with a bunch of quirky characters I’d say this one’s for you.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rollover by Susan Slater

August 28, 2014 By 4 Comments

ROLLOVER
Rollover by Susan Slater
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full length (344 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Camellia

A bank heist turns sleepy little Wagon Mound, New Mexico on its ear. It’s no straight-forward, demand all the money at gun-point, and run out the front door kind of robbery. It’s a sneaky tunneling that probably took months to complete and put the thieves in a room of safe deposit boxes—not the vault which held some two million. Safe deposit boxes? What could have made it worthwhile to bypass a cool couple million?

Maybe the one hundred and ten year old sapphire and diamond necklace belonging to eighty-five year old Gertrude Kennedy was the lure. United Life and Casualty carried a policy on it for five hundred thousand and sent their investigator, Dan Mahoney to sort things out.

But he didn’t quite get there when expected. Catching a ride when his Jeep overheats, Dan is the hapless passenger in a rollover that kills the driver and puts him in the hospital only to find out this was no accident. Someone wants him out of Wagon Mound at any cost.

He doesn’t scare easily. He hasn’t lived his life looking over his shoulder and he’s not starting now. But when fiancée, Elaine Linden, disappears and people close to the case turn up dead, maybe he should reconsider. The note slipped under his door in the dead of night says it all—“it’s not what you think”.

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Rollover starts off in a deceptively ordinary way. There is the not unusual car breakdown on a lonesome road. Even the appearance of an old man in a wreck of a pickup truck is not unusual for that part of the country. However, by the end of chapter one, the mystery has begun and runs full throttle for the rest of the book.

Dan Mahoney, an investigator for an insurance company, sets out to check out and write up his report on a piece of stolen jewelry and ends up embroiled in a complicated mess that has him interviewing everybody from the bank president to the junkyard man. He is not a popular man in that little town.

Elaine Linden, Dan’s special lady, returns from Ireland to be with him when he is hurt. Their romance adds a facet to the story that creates a bit of normalcy among the other facets of the story where it seems everyone else is running amok with secrets and mysterious dealings. Ms. Slater does lead the reader on a merry chase. Trying to keep up with all the happenings is absorbing reading—the primary mystery is a solid thread throughout the novel, but lots of other unsavory, illegal things are happening all over the place.

The author uses the setting to ratchet up the eeriness, mystery, and danger. The incident of the burned car and the body in it is chilling—made me shudder. The people in white working in the dark, the howl of a dog in a lonesome place, etc. stirs the emotions. It seems the author was personally acquainted with the part of New Mexico where Rollover takes place.

Gertrude Kennedy and her stolen Tiffany necklace that is a treasured, expensive, one-of- a-kind heirloom with a history bring Dan Mahoney to Wagon Mound. The story that unfolds about the necklace made me think of “what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

Rollover is well-written and attention keeping with more than one breath-holding scene. It satisfied my craving for a good mystery story.

I invite you to enjoy it, too.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hell with the Lid Blown Off by Donis Casey

August 1, 2014 By 1 Comment

HELL
Hell with the Lid Blown Off by Donis Casey
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (228 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

In the summer of 1916, a big twister brings destruction to the land around Boynton OK. Alafair Tucker’s family and neighbors are not spared the ruin and grief spread by the storm. But no one is going to mourn for Jubal Beldon, who made it his business to know the ugly secrets of everyone in town. It doesn’t matter if Jubal’s insinuations are true or not. In a small town like Boynton, rumor is as damaging as fact.But as Mr. Lee the undertaker does his grim duty for the storm victims, he discovers that even in death Jubal isn’t going to leave his neighbors in peace. He was already dead when the tornado carried his body to the middle of a fallow field. Had he died in an accident or had he been murdered by someone whose secret he had threatened to expose? There are dozens of people who would have been happy to do the deed, including members of Jubal’s own family. As Sheriff Scott Tucker and his deputy Trenton Calder look into the circumstances surrounding Jubal’s demise, it begins to look like the prime suspect may be someone very dear to the widow Beckie MacKenzie, the beloved music teacher and mentor of Alafair’s daughter Ruth. Ruth fears that the secrets exposed by the investigation are going to cause more damage to her friend’s life than the tornado. Alafair has her own suspicions about how Jubal Beldon came to die, and the reason may hit very close to home.

Murder and mayhem burn through the town of Boynton, Oklahoma faster than a twister gone wild.

These days, you can easily find online dealers http://www.learningworksca.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/028-CSU-Your-Guide-to-College-Readiness.pdf viagra cialis online that are selling ginseng products at the best competitive prices. On the other hand, those who practiced levitra professional cheapest sexual activity thrice a week were found to be effective in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. To help such males who feel shy because of their health by understanding their diabetes and should follow the instructions printed on the label in order learningworksca.org levitra professional samples to use Kamagra medication correctly and safely. If everything works out fine, and the disorder is detected early, weather it affects mortality wholesale viagra cheap is under debate. In the summer of 1916 a large twister carves a path of destruction into the rural town of Boynton, Oklahoma. A cast of characters, each threatened by the odious Jubal Beldon in his or her own way, finds themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. A book in the Alafair Tucker mystery series, the tale winds around on itself and lays out one or two particular surprises at the end.

For someone who has not read any of the series beforehand, it didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. The unique way the author used to show many points of view was very effective in a murder mystery and really showed what times were like back in 1916. The language, the mannerisms of the local people…everything, even including some pretty sharp prejudices.

At the onset of the book, it did take me awhile to figure out where the story was leading. You got to meet a host of people and learned quickly what an unpleasant person Jubal Beldon was. He lied, created rumors where there was nothing to see and made a host of people’s lives miserable. When a twister hit the town and he was found dead, there were many who were glad to see him not residing on the planet any longer. But who might have hated or feared him enough to actually have killed him?

An investigation is formed and one by one suspects have their secrets laid bare. The twist at the end is a good one, but the conclusion was fairly uneventful. The one issue I had with the book was the issue of homosexuality and the abject hatred people had for anyone perceived as gay in those times. I felt the author was making a point about motivational factors as regards to murder, but at times it frankly made me uncomfortable. The misery of the accused characters and repercussions of being found out were horrendous. The family issues of being disowned were also very emotionally infused. I would indeed be curious as to the author’s views on the subject and why she chose to show that particular part of history in her work.

For the most part, I enjoyed the story. It was like coming home to visit a group of relatives I had never met in a small town I had never been to. I would read more books by the author and congratulate her on a powerful use of many different POV throughout the book.

If you enjoy down home country cooking with a side of mystery, then you must check out the Alafair Tucker series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

This Private Plot by Alan Beechey

July 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

PLOT
This Private Plot by Alan Beechey
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (305 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Sherlock Holmes once claimed that “the lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”  And Oliver Swithin, reluctant guest in an English village, is about to find out that it’s true.

Coaxed out of his clothes and into a midnight streak by his girlfriend, Oliver’s amorous intentions are thwarted by the discovery of a dead body dangling from the village’s ancient gibbet. When it appears that the famous victim was driven to suicide by blackmail, Oliver resolves to find the blackmailer. And to do so, he needs to discover the dead man’s secret.

But in the twenty-first century, when sins that would once have been ripe for shaming are now a cause for hiring a publicist, what foul deeds of the past will people still pay to keep hidden? Is the carefully cut out page from a Shakespeare play, with its reference to a “private plot,” really a clue? Why did somebody fill in the victim’s grave before his funeral?
And what does any of this have to do with the memoir writers of the Vicar’s reading group, the five unmarried Bennett sisters, the mysterious monk known only as “The Vampire of Synne,” the case of the two Shakespeares, and the married couple who are never seen in the same room at the same time? Will there be yet another appearance by Underwood Tooth, the world’s leading expert on being ignored?
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Oliver discovers that the death was no suicide. But that’s nothing compared with the next revelation, which turns the entire investigation upside down and puts Oliver’s own life in peril.

Never trust your younger brother. If he and his girlfriend hadn’t been tempted to run naked the maze at midnight, they never would have found the dead body…

This is the third in a series about Oliver Swithin, amateur sleuth. He’s also a children’s book author, but he has to use a pseudonym to keep from embarrassing his father. He does have a very pretty girlfriend who works for Scotland Yard, but that doesn’t redeem him in his father’s eyes. This is the first one of Mr. Beechey’s books I’ve read, but I’ve enjoyed it. It reads fine as a stand-alone.

The dead man was “Uncle Dennis” and while he seemed an inoffensive quiet little man, he does have some secrets. The police determine he committed suicide, as unlikely as it may seem. It also appears to be an impossible thing to do for Oliver, but no one listens to him. When he says that the suicide note left would be enough to drive him to suicide and isn’t that murder, too, he doesn’t get far. The police do entertain those notions. He’s warned to leave it alone. We all know he won’t. What he finds is that such a small village holds a lot of secrets. And even his family has some…

I enjoyed the dinner party Oliver and Effie attended. The moneyed family’s unwed daughters are anxious to capture Oliver and fairly rude to Effie. I just loved all the nasty comments she made in her mind to them. She was gracious and didn’t say them out loud, but she did get drunk. I found that realistic.

The whole story is full of outlandish secrets (that really aren’t secrets to anyone except Oliver) and a very convoluted path to the person who finally got tired of Uncle Dennis and tried to clear the path to money and marriage. I was surprised to find out who the killer was. I was also surprised by a secret finally disclosed to Oliver at the end of the book. It has shaken his life up and I see the next book already forming in the author’s head.

The author writes a good book with some tongue-in-cheek jokes, plenty of action and a good flow to the story. I was impressed enough with this read, I’ll be looking for more of his books. There are even Shakespearean quotes interspersed here and there. You can find out a bit of English history during the read. Give it try; I think you’ll like it.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Muzzled by Eileen Brady

July 1, 2014 By 1 Comment

MUZZLED
Muzzled by Eileen Brady
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspesnse, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (219 pgs)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

Making rounds to homes one wet spring morning, veterinarian Dr. Kate Turner rescues a family’s hamster from a vacuum cleaner, then visits an estate whose owners breed champion Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Instead of sharing traditional tea with the couple, she confronts a bloody scene of bodies and twenty-seven blue-ribbon dogs running wild.

Police initially suspect a murder-suicide, but when Dr. Kate proves the famous best-in-show champion is missing, a darker reality intrudes. She remembers her grandfather saying that there are two motives for murder—love and money. While treating local pets, Dr. Kate discovers suspects and motives everywhere in this charming town filled with people who wanted the couple dead.

This insures a sufficient blood supply viagra samples australia to the penis which makes the persons erections stronger and better than before. Joyce and Calhoun argue that significant reform is “nearly impossible” in a typical organization workplace; at best, people will move forward as individual ‘points of light,’ but they will be unable to build the energy future, or at least others will end up building it and leaving us behind. viagra uk cheap These capsules because of antioxidant, anti-aging and anti-stress (adaptogenic) properties help in achieving perfect values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. viagra in usa And, the home remedies for vertigo are efficient in deep cute-n-tiny.com cialis uk cleansing of liver. Was the couple murdered for money their champion could bring to another breeder? How is their daughter, anxious to rid herself of the pampered dogs, handling the wealth she inherits? Would the celebrity filmmaker living nearby kill to end a multi-million dollar lawsuit? Did long-buried personal secrets cause the deaths? And what’s going on at the office behind her back? Is Dr. Kate now in danger?

Murder, humor, and furry friends. What animal loving mystery fan could ask for more?

Muzzled was a fun read and somewhat reminded me of the late James Herriot books about the trials and tribulations of a rural vet. This time around the vet, Kate Turner, is also an amateur sleuth who finds two dead bodies on one of her house calls.

Although at times I felt that it was light on the mystery side, the scenes including Kate tending to her many animal patients were all funny and delightful. She’s a likeable character and definitely one you’d like to read more about in follow up books.

Ms. Brady is herself a vet and that comes across clearly in the story with all the details she added about animal ailments and dog breeding. The dialogue was great and there were lots of funny one-liners in many scenes. The story also moved along at the ideal pace and I found myself reading the last ten chapters all in one sitting.

I liked the ending, and I have to say I hadn’t figured out who did the crime and definitely not the motive which is always a big plus to a die-hard mystery fan like myself.

If mystery is your favorite genre and you like a story featuring lots of furry secondary characters, I think this might be a good summer read for you.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Poisoned Ground by Sandra Parshall

May 1, 2014 By 1 Comment

GROUND
Poisoned Ground by Sandra Parshall
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (287 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

When a powerful development company sets its sights on Mason Country, Virginia, as the location for a sprawling resort for the rich, the locals begin taking sides. Many residents see the resort as economic salvation for the small Blue Ridge Mountains community, while others fear the county will become financially dependent on a predatory company.

Few oppose the development more vocally than veterinarian Rachel Goddard. She sides with locals reluctant to sell their land and, in the process, complicates the life of her new husband, Sheriff Tom Bridger.

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Can she bring the truth to light before her community tears itself apart?

A big developer wants to set up a sprawling resort for the rich. The community is split between those who don’t want the development and the loss of their land and those in the community who are anticipating new jobs and a better economic situation. Just the arguing is bad enough, but then an older couple is shot to death on their land. Where they going to sell or not? And who would have killed those good people?

Ms. Parshall has written other books in this series, but this is the first I have read. She writes a fluid story with some mystery, plenty of conflict and even a bit of a difference between Rachel and her husband Tom. It’s realistic, quirky, and the actual murderer surprised me. There’s no way I would have expected that. It made the story even more real although it’s fiction.

When Rachel speaks out against the development at a public meeting, the politician supporting it subtly threatens her husband and tells him to keep her quiet. Nobody is going to tell Rachel what to do, but he does mention the problems she causing him. They are both a little standoffish with each other after that discussion.

The search for the killer is getting nowhere and now there are fires and more people getting killed. The more Rachel finds out about the town and the people in it, the more depressed she gets. This quiet little community isn’t really quiet. Who could have imagined all the undercurrents?

The author does a very nice of job of tying all the little pieces together to explain the killer’s motive. This is a complex, sad story that that kept my attention and sounded altogether too true. Actions from the past often haunt the present. Do you have anything you need to be worried about?

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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