Murder for Dessert

 Death Sits Down to Dinner by Tessa Arlen is a turn of the twentieth century mystery novel.  It begins with an invitation to a birthday dinner for Winston Churchill's 39th birthday.  I'll start off with a bit of a spoiler.  This was a botched assassination attempt on Winston Churchill.  Unfraternally, another guest, from an important family, and who looks like Winston Churchill from behind, is murdered. Lady Montfort is a guest and an amateur detective.

Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson, the housekeeper, solve the mystery.  Lady Montfort would not presume to poke her nose downstairs, at the gossip and goings-on, of the help, but Mrs. Jackson can and does.  That's how the two ladies put two and two together to solve the problem.  

If you enjoy historical settings, you will enjoy the Edwardian setting and mores.  It took me awhile to get everyone straight.  I had to put a bookmark on the list of characters, so I could refer back. Whenever I read about families with servants, I always think the servants are more interesting.  They also had more fun. The upstairs/downstairs focus was certainly intriguing.

The Dead Tell Tales

 Since I've been sick all week, I was looking for books to read.  I saw Covenant of the Dead by Glenn Cooper on Facebook.  The Boston locale, murdered nuns, and it looked like a series.  Have I found a new Three Pines Mysteries? 

I hope so.  I could just picture the locales.  Been there, many times.  The major characters are Sister Elisabetta Celestino and Cal Donovan. Boston Police Detectives Santos and Trinh, are important, too.

Three nuns are murdered and there was nothing stolen except their rosaries.  Eli (Sister Elisabetta) and Cal pay a visit to the nuns.  Then in the Boston Globe, there's news that the murderer is a priest with a red nose. That fits the description of only one priest and he's accused.  He suspiciously dies before going to trial.

Eli and Cal pay a visit to the medium that said a priest with a red nose did it.  There's a picture above the mantel of Arthur Conan Doyle--think Sherlock Holmes.  It seems he had been to this very house and had a seance.  

That was over a hundred years ago and the Bostonians rioted to have these necromancers out of their city. A riot broke out and the medium's four children burned to death.  She blamed the nuns because they were very vocal with their rosaries and singing.  Mmmmmm.  Keep that in mind.

More tragedy to the medium's family.  Her husband and only remaining child were in a car accident.  Husband died and the daughter had to have her legs amputated.  This is the daughter who earns her living doing seances.  

Meanwhile, back in academia (Eli and Cal are professors at Harvard Divinity School).  They contact people in the know to look up Arthur Conan Doyle and Boston seance. Their research also uncovers similar nuns' deaths, dating back a hundred years.  After putting two and two together, rather parenthetical equations, the answer is revealed.

That's not the end.  This is a thriller.  Now that you know who and how, you better move fast to stop more murders.  

A Plum of a Story

 I picked up Plum Island by Nelson Demille, by mistake.  To me, Plum Island is across the Merrimack River and Salisbury Beach's black rocks.  As a child, my family often went there.  So when I saw a book written about Plum Island, I wanted to read it.

My Plum Island is known as a Wildlife refuge.  It's a state park.  I swam and fished there, also.  Demille's Plum Island is in New York, and not for people. It's a government animal disease research center.

However, the book did not disappoint.  The major character is a smart mouth detective, John Corey.  He is recuperating from being shot.  Across from his uncle's summer home is Plum Island.  Corey's neighbors worked there, until they were murdered.  The local sheriff asks for Corey's help.

While investigating, Corey meets two romantic prospects.  Beth is a detective, too.  Emma is a local historian that helps with the background.  John Corey is one horny male animal.  (I overlooked that aspect.) He does, however, start to fall in love with one of the ladies, until she is brutally murdered.  

The plot is a surprise because the purpose of the murder is not what anyone thought.  The story is fast paced.  It is good.

I've learned that John Corey is the protagonist in Demille's other books.  I'm looking forward to reading those.

Caught on Camera

 American Girl is a suspense full mystery thriller by Wendy Walker.  The main character is a seventeen year-old authistic girl, Charlie.  Her home like is complicated.  She has a loving mom, "Mama Bear type."  She has a cold to mild step dad and two young step brothers.  Her plans are to go to MIT.  She has the grades and is working to get the money in a sandwich shop.

Her coworkers have future plans too, and are her very close friends--soul mates.  Everyone helps each other and would defend to the death, each other, too.  One friend comes to work all bruised.  It's not from her devoted boyfriend.  It's from her senile grandmother.  She is working to get the money to put her grandmother in some sort of NICE assisted living facility.  Another friend is a rookie cop who has an obsession to find the hit-an-run driver who killed his father.

Charlie works for a crook who hides their revenue.  The story begins with the boss being killed.  Charlie is implicated because the security camera has her there at the scene.  She was hiding behind the counter.  She didn't do it, but she was there.  Who did it?  Whom is she protecting?

Will all Charlie's plans be destroyed?  Will the killer go after Charlie?  This story is a nail biter.

A Family Affair

A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase is different, for me. Ethan Brand, the major character, in the story, is a cowboy.  At least, I picture him wearing a cowboy hat and a sheriff's badge.  The setting is the border of the state of Washington and Canada.  

Brand's first crime in his new job as chief, is a murder. It's a young girl, who died in a lonesome place, the train tracks.  Lab work, investigative questioning and following police procedures, lead Brand to one family.  It's a well-known family; one brother in prison, and the other a prime suspect, since it was his girlfriend who was murdered.  

The plot gets tense.  It's a page turner.  Brand, besides investigating a crime, has the mayor on his back.  The mayor wants revenge, since Brand fired his son.  It seemed that every day, Brand had to report to the mayor on the progress of solving the crime.

He does.  Brand does figure everything out.  The murderer is caught.  But that's not the end.  The sister in that crime-ridden family seems to be involved.  Or is she?  I see hints of another book, coming.

The Morals of an Ally Cat

A friend of mine recommended The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths.  She said that since I like mystery series, I would enjoy Elly Griffiths' amateur sleuth, Ruth Galloway. I did enjoy the mystery, the writing, the plot, the setting, the pace, but I did not enjoy the fact that the characters have no moral standards when it comes to sex.  It seems that chastity isn't a consideration.  In fact, one of Ruth Galloway's best friends prefers to have affairs with married men, because then there would be no chance that they would want to get entangled with her.  Ruth, herself, has a fling with the police detective investigating the crime.  Isn't that unethical?  

Besides, that flagrant behavior, the mystery is good.  I kept guessing wrong perpetrators.  Ruth is an archeologist, living on a desolate marsh.  She becomes involved because bone identification is her specialty.  Detective Nelson has been investigating a kidnapping for ten years.  Recently, another little girl has been kidnapped. However, the bones that Ruth uncovered in her marsh are too old to be the victims.  

There are notes taunting the police with archeological terms.  Ruth helps with that.  When she gets too close, she's endangered, also.  

This is the author's first, in the series.  I enjoyed the story.  Too bad, everyone is sleeping with everyone's spouse and boyfriend.  The story didn't need the sex.  I think it detracted from the plot.  The mystery could stand on its own.

A Gothic Mystery

Wake of Malice by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson is a mystery that called me by name.  The story had everything I like.  The setting is Ireland, around the turn of the twentieth century. There are gypsies, priests, vampires, romance, curses, demons, and my favorite exorcist, the friar, Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy.

The story begins with journalists Hugh Buckley and Freddie Jones assigned to go to write what's happening in an Irish Village.  A priest has been accused of stealing money. He is the second to be murdred.

When Hugh and Freddy arrive, the priest is accused of murder of the man he allegedly stole from. Other murders follow, in ritual, macabre manners, suggesting demonic activity.

One odd boy is accused.  Some gypsies are locked up.  The daughter of one of the victims, is suspected.

Our hero, Father Thomas Edmund is almost murdered, but he was found before he died, by Hugh.

What I enjoy about these mysteries is they're not creepy.  There's evil but it's not drawn out to creep you out.  Besides, Father Thomas Edmund always wins.  You can't figure out who's doing the murders and is the evil one, until it's time. Wake of Malice is easy to read and enjoy.

Improbability

 You have no idea how much I wanted Louise Penny's latest novel to be good.  Her nineteenth mystery finally arrived.  The Grey Wolf continued with the same Three Pines/Quebec/Canadian setting, the familiar characters, the tense suspense was there, the thrill, the fast pace, the heart stopping drama, but the clues, I found unbelievable.

I found myself saying, "Oh c'mon!", numerous times.  How could scraps of paper mean anything? Traveling from one country to another so easily, happen?  

Then I remembered that I always think that of Sherlock Holmes, yet I still enjoyed them.  And I do enjoy Louise Penny's writing.

What sealed the improbability of the clues was the behavior of the monks.  Since I'm Catholic, I know that monks take vows of stability.  The Dominican friars don't, since they work outside their priory; but Gilbertines and Carthusians take a "vow of stability" to NEVER leave their monasteries.  Maybe they could get special permission in extraordinary cases, but not as easily as the monks in The Grey Wolf, to hop from country to country.

The most egregious abnormality was the Confession. The priest who asked a non-ordained brother to hear Confessions for him is a ridiculous scenario. That would never happen, unless the priest was drunk, or on drugs, or had a gun to his head.  A brother without the faculties to hear Confessions would never assent to do that, either, unless he was drunk, or on drugs, or had a gun to his head. Their souls would be in serious jeopardy.  Besides, what was the sin?  No sin was committed.  The deed hadn't been done yet.  There was nothing to absolve.  Just thinking or planning bad things is just venial.  

I think Louise Penny should have had the scenario of Spiritual Direction, instead of Confession.  That's confidential, also.  Brothers, sisters, and trained lay people, can give spiritual direction. Definitely, that's believable.  

There's one other Catholic thing, Penny got wrong.  Catholics should be buried in consecrated ground, not have their ashes spread on a rock.  An abbot would certainly know that.  

It may seem that I didn't enjoy the book.  I did.  Authors often get the Catholic stuff wrong.  And Louise Penny is a wee-bit anti-Catholic, but it really doesn't bother me because I love Armand and all the other characters in Three Pines.  I hope the series doesn't end with Armand dying.  I want him to retire and continue to solve crimes.  He could be chief inspector emeritus.  

The Start

 My friend, Jordi, is writing seriously, now.  He's quit his day job and is writing as much as he can.  He kept giving me excerpts, so I've read his first issue in his Julian Bacardi Files, piece meal.  It kind of spoiled the plot.  What I mean is, I've read his first book, A Lover's Trick: The Julian Bacardi Files, Book 1: Sofia Greco, piece meal.

I think I want to invite him to my book club, to speak, but of course, they have to have read his book.  The story is excellent, except...except...well, he has quite a bit of sexual erotica in it.  Reflecting in the whole story, it's kind of necessary.  The plot would not be as good, without it. There is no way, you could take it out, and have as good a story.

The idea is that he's a Dominican priest, whose ministry is working with the drug addicts, and dealers, prostitutes, etc.  His deacon is incomprehensibly murdered.  I say it was hard to understand how the good deacon, newly a father, could have ever been involved with prostitutes.  Trying to figure out the why, involves Padre Juli deeply into a prostitution ring. The good Dominican friar is trapped.  He comes out a bad Dominican, in that he breaks his vows of celibacy. 

Reflecting again, how could a Dominican friar ever work undercover in a drug, arms, prostitution ring?  It isn't possible.  Dominican friars live a half-cloistered life.  He has the Divine Office to pray in choir, he has a daily Mass to celebrate, he has to obey his prior, who would never allow one of his friars, the freedom Padre Juli has.  He has to be a bad priest and in the end of the book, Juli is leaving the religious life and priesthood.

Good.  Now, we have more books coming. 

Padre Juli becomes Detective Julian Bacardi.

Vengeance is Safe in God's Hands

 The Pilgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters is another Brother Cadfael mystery.  This series takes place in a twelfth century monastery.  It's time for the festival of Saint Winifred.  Many pilgrims come to the monastery at this time for pilgrimage, and physical and spiritual healing.  We do witness a physical healing of a lame boy, who discerns a calling to become a monk.

The boy's sister finds love with a dangerous knight.  What happened is that the one she loves is seeking vengeance and is following another man on a pilgrimage of penance.  

Brother Cadfael becomes involved because the lame boy was attended by Cadfael as was the man on the penance pilgrimage.  The penance involves walking barefoot to Dublin with a neck-chafing, heavy cross.  

I love the historical medieval setting.  The characterization is real, and the plot tense.  This is the tenth mystery in the Brother Cadfael series.  

Wedding Guest List

 The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a gothic mystery thriller.  The setting is a character in this story.  It's an Irish island off the coast of Ireland, with a dark history.  The little island is full of bogs where people have disappeared.  Of course, it's a dark and stormy night.  Every single chapter ends with foreboding suspicion.

There's about to be a wedding between two beautiful celebrities.  The groom is drop dead gorgeous; everyone says so.  However, as you go deeper into the story, the groom isn't a nice guy.  In fact, the bride received a letter saying that the groom is not who you think he is.  That note does give her pause, but she dismisses it. After all, what celebrity hasn't been harassed by nutty characters?

The bride is the editor and founder of a popular magazine.  She didn't get where she is by being a people pleaser, either. They  make a  beautiful couple.

The wedding planner is an important character and she holds the whole event together.  The maid of honor is the bride's sister and she is very needy.  Anyone would find her annoying.  Then there are the best man and groom's men.  What a bunch of macho bullies!  They're always drunk and talking about their glory days, which weren't so glorious to the kids they'd bullied.

I can't forget the bride's best friend, who is male and he has her back. He also brought along his wife who feels left out because she doesn't know anyone except her husband and he's busy being the master of ceremonies.

The chapters are short points of view from each of these characters.  The timing is confusing.  The chapters aren't in order:  "Day of the Wedding,"  "Morning of the Wedding," "The Day before," with some of the characters and soon you are disorientated.  This may be the author's purpose.  The reader will be confused about who will be murdered.  The island almost claims a couple of the guests.  And "who done it" will be a surprise.  Everything will be explained, in the end.  

Again and Again

 This is the first novel by Stuart Turton. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is an impressive feat. I don't think I've ever read anything like it. The storyline is original, at least to me. The major protagonist, Aidan wakes up every day, a different character, attending a dinner at Blackheath Manor. The will go on forever unless Aidan figures out who kills Evelyn Hardcastle.

The characters are all unsympathetic people. They get more obnoxious as the plot goes on. The story kept my interest because I wondered how Aidan got out of the situation. There are too many characters to remember and Aidan was running out of time.
The story is fast-paced and if you like stories with twists, you'll enjoy this novel.

Greek to Me

 Alex Michaelides' "The Maidens" is a gothic mystery. Mariana is the detective type trying to solve "who done it." She's a group therapist who was recently widowed. Her niece, whom she helped bring up when her sister died, had a friend who was murdered. More girls are murdered. The setting is the college where her niece attended. The red herring is a Greek tragedy professor. It's his "groupies" that are nicknamed "The Maidens" that are being murdered.

Mariana is annoying because she always chooses the wrong thing to do. What bothered me the most was the author's method of writing inner dialogue. I'm not even sure these inner thoughts were the murderer's. A chapter would be written in bold print; that's how the reader would know that they were reading "inner thoughts." But whose?

I still don't know.

Claiming Sanctuary

"God's reach is longer than man's; it had better be, otherwise we are all lost."

The Sanctuary Sparrow is a Brother Cadfael mystery. I enjoy medieval settings and Brother Cadfael circuitous solving of mysteries, plus seeing the hand of God in the solution. Ellis Peters, the author, manages to provide me with many hours of enjoyment with her Brother Cadfael mysteries.

In The Sanctuary Sparrow the protagonist is described as a hunted sparrow. He is a small, delicate man who races into the abbey, pursued by an angry mob intent on hanging him. The poor man races up the sanctuary steps and grabs hold of the altar cloth. 

 "...the great parish door suddenly hurled open to crash against the wall, and something unseen came hurtling and scrabbling and gasping down the length of the nave, reeling and fumbling and fending itself off from wall and pillar, heaving at breth as though run to death already...All Cadfael could see of the quarry was a thin arm and a fist hardly bigger than a child's that reached out of the chaos to grip the edge of the altar cloth with life-and-death desperation."


What the hunted man, Liliwin, was accused of was theft and attempted murder. As the story progresses, it certainly looks like he is guilty. There is romance too. In fact two romances are entertwined in the mystery, but one is ill fated. It is Cadfael's intuition and persistant investigatory techniques that lead to solving the crime.

Don't Believe What You Hear

John Sandford's "The Night Crew" is not about the team that works at your supermarket, stacking the shelves at night.  The Night Crew is Sandford's novel is a free-lance TV crew that roams the streets at night looking for news to sell to the TV stations.

    The story begins when the crew tapes a suicide.  One of the night crew is killed and a link is established between the two events.  The link is the protagonist, Anna.  Evidently, a lunatic is romanticizing about Anna and is killing others whom he thinks are interested in her.

    She is helped by a former cop turned lawyer, Jake.  The two of them go through some harrowing moments in trying to figure out the "who d'un it."

     The plot is fast and suspenseful.  There were times when I thought the story would make a good "Die Hard" movie.  But everything makes sense in the end.

The Viaduct Murder

** spoiler alert ** Since I'm quarantined, I thought I would start reading a mystery series. I chose a series by Ronald Knox because I heard praises of his work, both religious wise and secular.

I was disappointed in his first mystery, The Viaduct Murder. His style is not my cup of tea. In fact, I had to look back at when this book was first written because the style reminded me of Sherlock Holmes--nineteenth century.

I've always found Holmesian deduction not natural and improbable if not impossible.

The character of Rendall-Smith is a near waste. She's introduced but not necessary. The other characters bounce sleuthing theories around like a golf ball (pun intended). I just felt the characters too nineteenth-century English (I dare say).

Then to have the murderer caught in the beginning after suffering chapters of Holmesian deduction was just a bit much.

That being said, since I believe in second chances (and third and ...) I just might read another Ronald Knox mystery.

Bat Mystery

If they make their way into a house, bats are often seen on drapes or curtains. Wade Tregaskis
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/bats/tips/bat_in_house_humane_removal.html

He's gone.  But how did he ever get in?

Last night, hubby was watching baseball in the living room.  I was watching mysteries on PBS in another room.  Suddenly, a bat flew around the room.  I couldn't believe it!  Where did it come from?

I close the door so it wouldn't fly around the house.  I yelled for hubby.  Together we worked to get it out.  We opened the windows and try to swat it out.  It finally landed inside a window valence.  We threw the blanket over the entire window so he couldn't get out into the room.  It had no choice but to go out the window.

The Bell Tolls

The Bell Tolls by R. Franklin James is a Hollis Morgan Mystery.  Hollis Morgan is a probate attorney who finds herself involved in criminal law.  What’s interesting and what shadows her, is that she is also an ex-con.  Flashes of her past are haunting.  Breath catching fears pop up unbidden.  But this adds interest to her research and current detective work.  The reader will find himself rooting for her and fearful of anything that would knock her down.

Hollis currently has the task of delivering packages that a client has requested to be delivered after his death.  Unfortunately, his demise was caused by murder.  Also, unfortunately, Hollis gradually realizes that these packages were proof that her client was engaging in blackmail.  Hollis’ deceased client has her returning the incriminating evidence to his victims, to let them off the hook.  Why?  Good question—keep it in mind, because being kind is out of character, for Hollis’ client.

The bell really tolled because Hollis’ client was murdered.  All his victims are suspect.  If this weren’t enough, Hollis has other clients: a stripper who wants her will drawn up, plus satisfying her boss’ demand for billable hours.

Did I mention Hollis’ personal life?  The love of her life dies.  Her estranged mother will die if she doesn’t get a new kidney.  Guess who is a perfect match.  Talk about multitasking!

Somehow, Hollis deftly dispatches one demanding task after another.  Plus she figures out “who done it.” Despite the twists and turns, James’ new mystery is really about the characters.  Hollis is hard working and honest.  The reader wants her to succeed.  She overcomes her past, personal tragedies, and maintains her objective judgment and detective skills.  All the suspects are believable.  Each one of them is drawn to be a murderer. 

Another aspect of James’ writing that appealed to me was that the mystery unfolded chronologically.  With so many suspects, I appreciated that I didn’t have to take notes to keep up with who’s who.  Gradually, the story unfolded and so does Hollis’ personal trials with her mother and her boyfriend.  The struggles are real and heart wrenching.

The Bell Tolls has a good plot, is beautifully told and filled with interesting characters. Even though I was given this book for free to review, I am not obliged to give a positive review.  The Bell Tolls deserves a good review.

R. Franklin James's Web Site:
http://rfranklinjames.com/

R. Franklin James's Facebook:
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R. Franklin James's Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7043359.R_Franklin_James

The Bell Tolls Goodreads:
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R. Franklin James's Bio:

R. Franklin James grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. From there she cultivated a different type of writing—legislation and public policy.  After serving as Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles, under millionaire Richard Riordan, she went back to her first love—writing, and in 2013 her debut novel, The Fallen Angels Book Club was published by Camel Press.  Her second book in The Hollis Morgan Mystery Series, Sticks & Stones, was followed by The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club, and The Trade List. The Bell Tolls, book five was released in June 2017.

R. Franklin James lives in Northern California with her husband.

Prices/Formats: $4.95 ebook, $15.95 paperback
Genre: Women's Sleuth, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 239
Release: June 1, 2017
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603812177

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A New Mystery Series

Due for Discard
by
Sharon St. George

Due for Discard is a mystery.  This is the author, Sharon St. George’s debut novel.  There’s a subtitle to Due for Discard,-- An Aimee Machado Mystery.  Aimee Machado is the protagonist in this new mystery series.  She is young, pretty, smart, and determined to get her brother off the short list of suspects for murder. 

A promiscuous adulteress has been murdered, and Aimee’s brother was one of the last people to meet with her.  And the meeting was contentious.  But since she was a promiscuous adulteress, there are other suspects.   In fact, one of the suspects tries to get rid of Aimee, too.  Her snooping causes alarm for many, who hope to lie low.

This mystery has suspense, but it also has surprisingly, humor.  Aimee lives on a llama farm.  The llamas actually protect Aimee.  There’s also a foul mouth cockatiel and a large cat who would like nothing better than have the bird for dinner.  The situation reminds me of Sylvester and Tweety.  And I can’t forget the swinging couple who ran a pet cloning business. Aimee pretends to want a llama cloned, just to investigate the suspected couple.  She almost gets involved in the couple swapping game.  That was a hoot.

Aimee and her friends and relatives are all likeable.  I imagine you’ll find Aimee’s sequel mysteries quite entertaining, as well.  This particular novel, Due for Discard, is a good read.  It has action for thrill seekers, humor for relief, romance for interest, and the plot itself, for mystery buffs.  What else do you want?

I received a free copy of Due For Discard by Sharon St. George from Tribute Books.  No other compensation was received and my review is my honest evaluation.

About the Author:

Sharon St. George had the good fortune to spend an idyllic childhood in a small northern California town, riding horseback and camping with her family in the nearby mountains. One of her favorite pastimes was reading fiction, and a trip to the library was always an occasion of great joy. She’s traded horses for llamas, but she still treks to the high mountain lakes near her home—always with a mystery novel in her backpack. Sharon’s writing credits include three plays, several years writing advertising copy, a book on NASA’s space food project, and feature stories too numerous to count. She holds dual degrees in English and Theatre Arts, and occasionally acts in, or directs, one of her local community theater productions. Sharon is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and she serves as program director for Writers Forum, a nonprofit organization for writers in northern California.

Product Details

·         Series: An Aimee Machado Mystery (Book 1)

·         Prices/Formats:  $ 15.95

·         Paperback: 340 pages

·         Publisher: Camel Press (March 1, 2015)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN:  9781603812238

Prices/Formats: 
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Due for Discard Summary:

Aimee Machado is thrilled to be starting her first job as a forensic librarian at the medical center in the town of Timbergate, north of Sacramento, California. Her ebullient mood is somewhat dampened by her recent breakup with her former live-in boyfriend, Nick Alexander. And then there's a little matter of murder: on Aimee's first day on the job, a body is found in a nearby Dumpster and soon identified as her supervisor's wife, Bonnie Beardsley.

Aimee's heartbreaker of a brother and best friend, Harry, just happens to be one of the last people to see Bonnie alive, but he is hardly the only suspect. Bonnie was notorious for her wild partying and man-stealing ways, and she has left a trail of broken hearts and bitterness. Aimee is determined to get her brother off the suspect list.

Aimee's snooping quickly makes her a target. Isolated on her grandparents' llama farm where she fled post-breakup, she realizes exactly how vulnerable she is. Three men have pledged to protect her: her brother Harry, her ex, Nick, and the dashing hospital administrator with a reputation for womanizing, Jared Quinn. But they can't be on the alert every minute, not when Aimee is so bent on cracking the case with or without their help.

Book 1 in a new mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Aimee Machado.

Caught in the Rain

Book Review

The Rainy Day Killer by Michael J. McCann

The rain brought the killer out.  That’s when he tortured and killed.  Then he bragged about it.  He taunted the police.  That’s how it was.

One never knew when or where  he would strike.  But when it rained, the woman stayed inside.  They didn’t answer the door bell.  That’s how it was.

The women were all mutilated.  Their breasts were cut off.  They were positioned in obscene postures.  The killer sent the police the breasts.  That’s how it was.

And that’s how the police found all their victims.  The police, homicide detective Lieutenant Hank Donaghue, and detective Karen Stainer, are working on the  case, with FBI profiler Ed Griffin.  This couldn’t have happened at a worse time.  Detective Stainer is getting married.  In fact, the killer has marked her, as his next victim.

The killer is just an ordinary, unassuming man.  The women never expected danger, not for a second.  He’d offer his umbrella, and when he was standing close enough, he’d jab a sedative into his victim.  It happened so fast, there were no witnesses.  He cleaned everything up, afterwards.  He was impossible to track.

He does himself in.  First by targeting the detective Karen Stainer, who has been trained to fight.  Second, by regularly telephoning detective Donaghue to brag and harass.  Stainer is getting married, so the reader’s sympathy and suspense senses are tingling.  The author was clever to use this situation.  Even though the reader knows the wedding and the bride are the next hit, the reader can’t relax—not with our minds and hearts racing to scan through all the wedding guests.  Who is it?  The wedding planner, the photographer, the video tapper? A waiter?  Valet? 

The pace of the story is good.  The reader is kept on the edge, even knowing that Detective Stainer is the next victim.  The characterization is believable and adaptable to do a series.  This detective series is going to be a hit.

I received a free copy of The Rainy Day Killer by Michael J. McCann from Tribute Books.  No other compensation was received and my review is my honest evaluation.

Prices/Formats: $3.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback
Pages: 290
ISBN: 9780987708786
Publisher: Plaid Raccoon Press
Release: August 30, 2013

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Author’s website: 
http://www.mjmccann.com/

Blog Tour Schedule:
http://therainydaykiller.blogspot.com/

Michael J. McCann's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-J-McCann/130617140389341

Michael J. McCann's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MichaelJMcCann1

Michael J. McCann's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4724806.Michael_J_McCann

Michael J. McCann's Mystery Blog:
http://michaeljmccannsblog.blogspot.com/

Michael J. McCann's Paranormal Blog:
http://wallsofnightmare.blogspot.ca/

Michael J. McCann's Pinterest: 
http://www.pinterest.com/michaeljmccann/

The Rainy Day Killer Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18669147-the-rainy-day-killer

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
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The Rainy Day Killer blog tour site:
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