Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

 

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Description:
The girl’s lifeless body lies next to a scattered bouquet of crimson roses, the petals around her head like tiny pools of blood. Gripped in her hand is the note that came with the flowers, sent by someone who wanted her dead.

When champion figure skater Michaela Glover returns to her hometown of Woodbridge for a special performance, Detective Amanda Steele is part of the cheering crowds. But when Michaela is discovered dead in her dressing room after the show, Amanda is the first to investigate the shocking scene.

There is no sign of foul play, and the room is overflowing with flowers from Michaela’s adoring fans. But Amanda’s heart stops at the sight of a few roses tied with black ribbon and a note that reads “You’ll be sorry”. And when forensic tests reveal the ribbon was laced in something Michaela was deathly allergic to, Amanda is certain this is cold-blooded murder.

Desperate for a lead, Amanda dives into Michaela’s life to find out who could possibly want this sweet girl dead. She soon discovers that despite having a glittering future ahead of her, Michaela had a troubled past, and was surrounded by people jealous of her success.

When someone close to Michaela is discovered brutally murdered, Amanda is terrified there could be yet more innocent victims to follow. Can she uncover the twisted killer’s identity before they strike again?

 

 

Review:

Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold is the 12th book in her Detective Amanda Steele series. As I have noted previously, I am a big fan of Arnold, having read most of her books, and I love this series, which continues with another great addition.  Amanda Steele, our heroine, is a homicide detective in Prince William County, Virginia. Amanda is enjoying an ice-skating show with her daughter, Zoey, and her friend Patty; who is the aunt of local ice-skating celebrity Michaela Glover. After the show, they head to visit Michaela, and when no on opens the door, Amanda steps in to discover that she has been murdered.

There is no sign of foul play, but Amanda notices a bunch of roses, tied with a black ribbon and a note saying “You’ll Be Sorry”. Amanda calls her partner, Trent to come to the rink, and together they begin to dig into Michaela’s life, and who would murder her. Forensics discovers that Michaela was allergic to peanuts, which caused her death; someone added the nuts into her drink, and watched her die.

Amanda and Trent become buried in a complicated case with multiple suspects; as they learn more about Michaela’s trouble past. The further they investigate, there are themes of jealousy, manipulations, anger, grief, money and death. A short time after, Michaela’s agent was also found murdered.  Amanda and Trent find information on the agent’s phone about being blackmailed. The deeper they follow the suspects and clues; it becomes apparent that Michaela was not close to her family, other than her aunt Patty.  Amanda begins to put pressure on members of Michaela’s family to find the truths.

Amanda and Trent are a great team, and I like them together. Amanda is a great detective, very strong, independent, and always able to solve any case. Amanda worries about her daughter, Zoey, because she always busy on a case.  Her relationship with Logan, begins to cause problems, especially with her always busy solving crimes.  I also enjoy the various police team that we get to see in coming up with important clues.

What follows is an exciting, suspenseful, intriguing, tense mystery, that kept me unable to put the book down, as this was a fantastic thriller. To say too much more would be spoilers.  Her Deadly Rose was a fantastic crime thriller, that was another gripping addition to the Detective Amanda Steele series. It was a compelling, engrossing, intricate suspenseful plot. Another wonderful police procedural, with great characters, edge of your seat thriller, with some twists and surprises at the end.  Her Deadly Rose was once again so very well written by Carolyn Arnold, which is the norm for this author; as I am loving this series. If you like mystery thrillers, police procedural, then you need to be reading this series.

Reviewed  by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton – a Review

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton – a Review

 

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Description:
When Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day, Detective Elise King wonders if she was killed by a man she met online. Karen was all over the dating apps, leading some townspeople to blame her for her own death, while others band together to protest society’s violence against women. Into the divide comes Kiki Nunn, whose aggressive newsgathering once again antagonizes Elise.

A single mother of a young daughter, Kiki is struggling to make a living in the diminished news landscape. Getting a scoop in the Simmons murder would do a lot for her career, and she’s willing to go up against not just Elise but the killer himself to do it.

 

 

Review:

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton is the 2nd book in her Elise King series.  This is another one of Barton’s exciting suspense novels, with Detective Elise King, once again the lead. We also get to see two other POV’s, one from Kiki Nunn, a journalist who is investigating the recent murder, and one from Annie, who lost her son 13 years ago in the same woods that Karen Simmons was recently found murdered.  

Detective Elise King is assigned to the case, even though she still has her own issues getting over her treatment of cancer. Karen’s body was found in Ebbing Woods, propped up against a tree and suffocated. Elise wonders if someone from the dating community met her murderer from there, as Karen has a reputation of having interactions with various men. Was one of them a stalker?  Most of the town knew about Karen’s reputation, and believed she reaped what she sowed.

Kiki Nunn is a reporter, and had recently interviewed Karen on the pros and cons of online dating. After Karen’s murder, Kiki is determined to jump on the case, to get her on the top of her field. She is upset about the murder, and is willing do everything to help find who killed Karen; Kiki constantly calls Elise to give her some clues, which does drive Elise crazy; since it’s too dangerous for Kiki to be involved with trying to discover clues.

Though 13 years ago, Annie lost her son, but with the murder taking place in the same woods, she is determined to look further into what has happened.  Annie and her husband have problems, and she suspected him of having affairs; which led him to tell Annie that years ago, he did have an affair with Karen.  Annie now decides she needs to get more information about her son’s death, and find the truths.

I did think that for almost half the book, it was a bit slow, especially going back and forth with all three narrators; but the last half picked up a lot, and became very exciting. I really did like Elise, who really was a great detective, especially so focused on the finding the killer. Kiki was another good character, as she was brave, but she took too many chances that endangered her life.   Annie was very good, and will learn more information about her son’s death, that would change everything. From the start to finish, there was so much going on, with many suspects, which did cause the beginning to be slow.

Talking to Strangers was a very good exciting mystery thriller, that was challenging and kept our attention throughout.  Talking to Strangers was very well written by Fiona Barton.  If you like mystery thrillers, a great detective, I suggest you read Talking to Strangers.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto – a Review

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto – a Review

 

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Description:
Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite. Then, Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now, she has access to everything: the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers. 
 
Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. What everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive. When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

 

 

Review:

You Will Never be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto is standalone mystery thriller. We meet Meredith Lee, who is a successful Momfluencer, on both Instagram and Tik Tok. Meredith runs into an up-and-coming influencer, Aspen Palmer, and takes her under her wing, with both becoming BFF. Meredith taught Aspen to be an influencer, and how to increase her followers.  Eight years later, Aspen has surpassed Meredith’s online popularity with millions of followers and Meridith is losing more each day. The ladies have a nasty fight, especially after Aspen cuts her off, ignores her and blocked her calls; and now they are enemies.

Meredith’s bitterness rises and as she begins stalking Aspen, secretly sabotaging her life; she changes appointments of Aspen, finding information about what is upcoming and slowly Aspen sees things are falling apart. Her sponsors have dropped her, influencers are ignoring her, and she sees both Meredith and later Liv, kissing her husband. Who is doing this to her?

About half way through the book, there is a twist, as Meredith goes missing, and Aspen’s world is upended and she puts herself live to show her worry about Meredith, as well as getting everyone to help find her; pleading to those who kidnapped Meredith and return her best friend.  Followers go out of their way to help look for Meredith, and Aspen has reached out to millions.

Personally, I thought both Meredith and Aspen were not really likeable & mean, as they only cared about themselves.  I knew this was a mystery, so I expected a whodunnit and even murder.   Meredith’s sister was stuck taking care of Luca, and was desperate to find her.   Aspen’s family, especially her husband Ben, were not happy with all that was going on.  To say too much more, would be spoilers, and I do not want to ruin it for you. 

You Will Never Be Me is a wild, crazy adventure that as we reach closer to the end, there were a number of twists and surprises.  You Will Never Be Me was very well written by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Sutanto always writes different kinds of stories, with this book centering on friendships and obsession.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan – a Review

You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan – a Review

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Description:
Nothing brings family together like crime.

Working alone as a private investigator is tough. Estranged from her PI family, Margo Angelhart does what she must to get by—including taking on sordid cases that pay the bills, even if she’d rather be helping those the justice system has failed.

That is, until a cheating husband case she’s working intersects with her siblings’ corporate espionage investigation, forcing Margo to cooperate with the Angelhart firm. Now, as the siblings compare notes, it’s clear they need to work together before a white-collar crime escalates to murder.

With far more questions than answers and a key suspect on the run, they’ll need the whole family to pitch in. But as they investigate the ever-twisting mystery, Margo isn’t sharing everything. Can she learn to trust her family and heal their once-close relationship before her secrets put those she loves most in danger?

 

 

Review:

You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan is the start of a wonderful new series, Angelhart Investigations. The Angelhart family owns their own private investigation firm, and Margo Angelhart broke away from her family and opened her own PI firm, taking all kinds of cases.  When her father was sent to prison for killing a man, and though they knew he was innocent, the father did not want to reveal anything and accepted his prison term.  Margo wanted to find the truth, but her mother (who runs the Angelhart PI firm) was determined to keep whatever secret her husband had; this led Margo to go on her own. She still sees the family on occasion, during celebrations. 

The story starts with Margo helping a woman, who suffers from an abusive husband. Margo arranges for Annie and her two children to take the minimal, and leave while her husband is at work; no phones, no computers, nothing to reveal anything.  With Margo’s help, Annie does escape, with no one knowing where she is ending up.  Eventually, the bad husband (state trouper) will discover both Margo and her uncle, helped his wife leave, and he is determined to get her back at any cost; even if they themselves do not know where she was.  The husband claimed his innocence, as its his right to abuse or rape her. 

The second story involves corporate espionage, but Margo has taken a case whose wife thinks he is cheating on her.   She hasn’t found any evidence that her husband is cheating, but the wife begs for her to keep checking for a couple more days.  Margo follows him, and discovers the husband (Logan Monroe) and a woman (jennifer) unconscious on the floor; she breaks into the house to help both of them, and cops are called.  To her surprise, her brother Jack and sister, Tess are also on the scene, and learns from them that the woman, Jennifer is being investigated for possible corporate espionage. Margo realizes that the wife who claimed her husband cheating, has more going on, and she joins hands with her family to discover the real truth, that involves crime, a thief and a wife trying to scam her husband for money.

I thought Margo was a terrific investigator, especially handling both of those cases.   I loved her family, especially Jack, who was beside her in both of the cases; he pushed for Margo to work with the family on the espionage case.  The rest of the family members, Lulu, Tess, Nico and their mother (she’s the boss) were all great.  Logan was the man whom his wife thought he was cheating, and he turned out to be a big help with the Angelhart team; as well as Jennifer, who had information regarding the company she worked for.

You’ll Never Find Me was an exciting compelling double mystery thriller.  It was nice to see all the Angelhart siblings work together, working toward putting the family back as a team. Allison Brennan gives us a fantastic story that was so very well written.  I look forward to reading more from this series, Angelhardt Investigations.  

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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The WildFire Girl by Carolyn Arnold – Review

The Wildfire Girl by Carolyn Arnold – Review

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Description:
The woman panics as the thick smoke starts to curl under the locked door. She can’t breathe and desperately tries to open the window, but it’s been sealed shut. Falling to the floor, she finally accepts there’s no way out of this room alive. And as her vision starts to fade, she prays she dies before the flames find her.

When human remains are discovered behind a dumpster in Woodbridge, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele rushes to the scene. Her heart drops when she arrives and is hit by the unmistakable stench of gasoline. Soon, her worst fear is the victim was burned alive.

With only an engraved gold wedding band surviving the blaze, Amanda knows it could be days before they have a confirmed ID. But when her partner Detective Trent Stenson arrives, he pales at the sight of the ring, recognizing it as belonging to his Aunt Gertrude’s husband, Don.

Trent is convinced his aunt isn’t involved, but as more is unearthed about her troubled relationship with her husband, and she fails to provide an alibi, Amanda isn’t so sure. Desperate to prove his aunt’s innocence, Trent soon discovers someone from Don’s past is back in Woodbridge—someone who wants revenge. But Amanda and Trent are shaken to their core when that person is discovered brutally murdered.

Convinced the cases are linked, Amanda knows she has to find the cold-blooded killer before they strike again. And as Trent becomes even more emotionally entangled in the case, she’s terrified he could become the next victim…

 

 

Review:

The Wildfire Girl by Carolyn Arnold is the 11th book in her wonderful Detective Amanda Steele series. I am a big fan of Arnold, having read most of her books, and I love this series, which continues with another great addition.  Amanda Steele, our heroine, is a homicide detective in Dumfries, Virginia Police Department. Amanda and her partner, Trent are called to the scene of a violet murder, as a man was burned to his death. Upon arrival, Amanda is hit with a terrible stench of gasoline, with the knowledge that the victim was burned alive.  Trent reveals to Amanda that he recognizes the victim’s wedding ring, which belongs to his Aunt Gertrudes abusive husband, Don.

Despite his believe that his aunt isn’t involved, more clues do point at the aunt being the possible perpetrator, especially with her not revealing a few lies, such as being in the vicinity at the time of her husband’s death. Amanda worries that Trent isn’t being objective.  Another woman is found murdered, and Amanda and Trent learn that the woman who was stabbed is someone from the husband’s past, whom he brutally abused, causing severe burns on the woman’s face years ago. Was this woman out for revenge, and did Don kill her before he was killed?

Amanda and Trent are a great team, and I like them together. Amanda is a great detective, very strong, independent, and always able to solve any case. Amanda has an adoptive daughter, who she worries about a lot, because of her always busy on a case.  She seems happy with Logan, who always watches over Zoe.

What follows is an exciting, suspenseful, intriguing, tense mystery, that kept me unable to put the book down, as this was a fantastic thriller. From the start, you become engrossed into the story, as Trent was determined to prove his aunt’s innocence, and Amanda doing her best to protect him from being too involved. The storyline was very interesting, especially the abuse by the victim against his wife, and former woman of the past. To say too much more would be spoilers.

The Wildfire Girl was a fantastic crime thriller, that was another gripping addition to the Detective Amanda Steele series. It was a compelling intricate suspenseful plot, excellent police procedural, great characters, edge of your seat thriller, with some surprises at the end.  The Wildfire Girl was once again so very well written by Carolyn Arnold, which is the norm for this author; as I am loving this series. If you like mystery thrillers, police procedural, then you need to be reading this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

 

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy mysteries, police procedurals, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.

 

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Past Tense (Matt Moulton Mystery 1) by Michael Amedeo-review

Past Tense (Matt Moulton Mystery 1) by Michael Amedeo-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 20, 2024

As America races toward the supposedly bright new decade of the 1950’s, disillusioned white private dick Matt Moulton finds himself faltering in the dark. Should he serve an amnesiac client whose recovering memories of paid murder intensify his own wartime guilt as an assassin? Should he risk endangering the person he loves, a beautiful black woman, for information on that case and an apparently related one? Does he imagine he can save her and himself from the corruption, the intolerance, and the apathy that linger in that violent nation’s shadows?

Taking place in a misty, sulky San Francisco, “Past Tense” appeals to readers who love their thrillers hardboiled. It brings pulp fiction back from the past, but here the genre seems more modern and yet more noir-like than ever before.

•••••

REVIEW: PAST TENSE is the first instalment in Michael Amedeo’s historical, adult MATT MOULTON MYSTERY noir, mystery series focusing on private dick Matt Moulton.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers from more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Matt) PAST TENSE follows former US Army sniper / Detective turned private dick Matt Moulton. The year is 1949, and Matt Moulton, a successful private investigator is about to find himself in the middle of an investigation where the body count rises in proportion to the secrets and lies uncovered by our story line hero. Matt has been contracted to find a missing woman but the information Matt receives only veils the truth when another case involving an assassin with amnesia crosses over with Matt’s current case, involving a corrupt politician, and several unscrupulous law enforcement officers. With the aid of his office assistant Sara, and administrative assistant Gina, Matt begins to unravel the truth, a truth that becomes stranger than fiction as a killer takes aim at everyone involved.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and interesting secondary and supporting characters. We are introduced to Matt’s assistant Sara Manson; his girlfriend and detective bureau administrative assistant Gina Harner; Lieutenant Gilbert Brannigan; San Francisco mayor Anthony Rossini, and assassin John Boorman.

PAST TENSE is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, murder and corruption, race, acceptance and relationships. The premise is intriguing, suspenseful and dramatic; the characters are colorful and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Click HERE for more information about Michael Amadeo

The Writer with an Edge

It’s an edge in talent for conceiving and writing persuasive and engaging marketing, public relations, and journalism.

And now it’s an edge in subject matter and style: My two new hardboiled noir novels—with a third on the way—feature private dick Matt Moulton, whose opportunistic work uncovers and reluctantly confronts the dirty, violent underside of late 1940’s and early 1950’s America.

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Hera’s Curse (American Noir Trilogy 1) by Shaun Griffin-review

Hera’s Curse (American Noir Trilogy 1) by Shaun Griffin-review & guest post

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 27, 2024

A cell phone number triggers a deadly chain of events which pits assassins Matt and John against the enigmatic Anastasiya. She is a vampire who has lived in the shadows for two hundred years and is not about to allow the extermination of her kind by mere mortals.

When a desperate young woman named Faith joins the men, she becomes the key to Anastasiya finding them. The vigilante priest, the ruthless crime boss, the disillusioned PI, the unfaithful trophy wife — each has their part to play as Anastasiya’s hunt moves towards the inevitable deadly showdown.

Hera’s Curse is a blend of crime noir and deconstructed vampire myth unlike anything you will read.

••••

REVIEW:This is definitely not your typical vampire story. A pretty good plot. Good characters and twists that will keep you reading until the last page.

Matt and John are assassins, guns for hire. On the lookout for a target they’ve been assigned. One looks forward to the chase and killing, the other not so much. They’ve been friends for a while, but a rift is beginning to form…..

Faith made one bad choice and now she’s paying for it! But when a lifeline is thrown to her, Faith has to quickly decide to stay where she is (if she does then she won’t be around for much longer 💀) or to go with Matt and John her new heroes and help them find the guy she’s with. (I personally would go with option two.) Deciding on the second option, Faith hopes it doesn’t lead her down an even more dangerous path!!

And Anastasiya our villain of the story, but is she? Being persecuted by humans who feel threatened by her has Anastasiya on edge. Being hunted because of one silly mistake made by one of her progeny, Anastasiya will hunt them. And Faith maybe the key to finding the two killers…..

It has stories coming together from all the different characters, we get to see how they come to this point in their lives, why they are here, and how it’s all going to end!

The ending, although I vaguely saw coming, still surprised me.

But I’m going to be honest, I really struggled getting into the book and it keeping my attention. I usually inhale vampire stories. But this one…. I can’t put my finger on it, it just didn’t flow like the books I usually read.

But that’s not to say it’s a bad book, no it’s not. It’s written well, thought out pretty good, and executed nicely.

The characters felt just a little out of sync with each other and the book. But I could easily distinguish one from another.

A good read if you like a thriller with a noir feeling.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Julie B 🦋

 

EVOLUTION OF A STORY
By Shaun Griffin

How does an author come up with an idea? How does it evolve? Is there some secret formula? Could a simple algorithm be designed to create our stories? Input some values and, hey presto, your story is done. I suppose to some degree this is happening.
All hail the AI tech wizards of creative oblivion.

The extent to which the art of weaving stories will be successfully mimicked by AI is much debated. There are times I grow despondent at the idea human beings would even think to relinquish their creativity to an algorithm. But then the muse wakes me at three in the morning with an idea and it is something magical. A magic I think AI will never be able to replicate.

This brings me to how I came up with my novel, Hera’s Curse. Although it was not called that in the beginning. It began as a short story called, Compound Vision.

It was 1998. I was driving to work one morning when I passed an old Ford Cortina (for American readers the equivalent would be a 1980s Chevy sedan) travelling well below the speed limit. Two young men, obviously closely related, sat upfront. They stared blankly ahead, blithely unaware of the world around them. The word ‘Hick’ immediately came to mind. Then it occurred to me—what if there was more to these two than met the eye? Rather than the slow-witted individuals they appeared to be, what if they were hitmen? I had this mental image of two brothers in dungarees and hobnailed boots sporting Magnum revolvers.

A few weeks later I was filling up at a gas station when a white minivan pulled up alongside. Seated inside were two prim rows of high school girls. What struck me was that they looked identical—from their immaculate private school uniforms to the blonde hair pulled back in a regulation ponytail. Every school principal’s dream. But what if that conformity hid something far more sinister?

That weekend I wrote a short story about two country bumpkin hitmen hunting a thug named Manny, who has been lured to a boarding house by some young women with the promise of sex. In the men’s search they meet Faith, a runaway who has been forced to work for Manny. She leads them to the boarding house where they discover the vampire women feeding on Manny. The story was told in a tongue-in-cheek style from the perspective of a fly-on-the-wall, hence the title. Everyone who read it remarked that I should expand it into a full-length story.

Work commitments got in the way and the story was shelved. Fifteen years later, I finally sat down to write. I thought about the original story. The characters in it were just caricatures and would not sustain the interest of anyone reading a novel. But where to start?

The first to change were the hitmen. They evolved into Matthew and John, two young men waging a war against drug dealers, though each for different reasons. Next were the young vampire women. Who were they? How did they become? For this story I felt things should be grounded in a plausible reality. Out went the usual tropes. These vampires would be a product of a virus and though enhanced in strength, agility, longevity and so forth, they could be killed like any human.

An infectious disease needs an origin and so the character of Anastasiya was born. Her noble origins and her motivation for creating her cult fell into place easily. It was then that I saw that the main conflict would be between Anastasiya and Faith, the last of my original trio. Mother and Maiden but who to be the Crone? Tammy is my interpretation of this aspect of the Goddess. All that was left was a way of connecting these protagonists. Enter Don Stone, the quintessential PI.

Once I’d completed my first draft, I realised I had the makings of a trilogy. I called it, American Noir. I hope you find the first part, Hera’s Curse, as enjoyable to read as I did to write it.

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Murder at the Lake by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

Murder at the Lake by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

 

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Description:
The moonlight dances across her bare skin, and a shooting star flies across the sky. And while the young woman’s eyes are open and facing upward, they no longer see anything…

The beach party was to mark the end of high school and to celebrate going to college in the fall. But that summer, four young friends were torn apart when the body of Emily Kane was discovered—raped and strangled —and one of their own was sent to prison for twenty-four years.

He just got out yesterday.

Today, one of those friends, Troy Matthews, plans to marry Detective Madison Knight. As they are about to exchange vows, detectives from a neighboring city arrest Troy for murder.

Dylan Graham, one of Troy’s friends from that fateful night, was shot dead in his home, and the police believe Troy pulled the trigger. They claim to have proof that Dylan was about to expose Troy for keeping a dark secret all these years that, if revealed, could jeopardize his life and his freedom. Troy isn’t saying much about the accusations but does insist on his innocence.

Madison secures his bail, but while Troy is out, another of his childhood friends turns up murdered in a motel room. With the evidence mounting against Troy, he is arrested again, and Madison fears for their future. Though what scares her more is that all the friends from that night are being picked off one by one . And if Troy isn’t behind the string of murders, he might be the killer’s next target. She’s not fooled into thinking that just because he’s behind bars, he’s safe and untouchable either. If she’s to save the man she loves, she’ll need to find the real killer before it’s too late.

 

 

Review:

Murder at the Lake by Carolyn Arnold is the 13th book in her Detective Madison Knight Mystery series. As noted, Carolyn Arnold always gives us exciting suspenseful murder mysteries, led by Detective Madison Knight; and Arnold’s knowledge of police procedurals makes these investigations greaet. This story is a bit different, as Madison and her fiancée, Troy Matthews are in the middle of their wedding ceremony; only to have detectives crash the wedding, and arrest Troy for murder.

Prior to the crashing of the wedding, the story actually opens with a prologue that happened 24 years ago.  There was a party on the beach, where a high school senior, Emily Kane was raped and murdered. One of the male friends was arrested, and found guilty and sent to prison. Though the other 3 friends testified that they felt their friend was innocent, but he spent 24 years, and in present time he was just released.  Dylan Graham, one of those friends, was found dead in his home, with some evidence (journal entry, and gun) pointing to Troy to be the killer.

While out on bail, and second murder happens, with more evidence pointing again at Troy.  When Troy visited the ex-prisoner prior to his death, he actually admits telling Troy that he did kill the girl 24 years ago. Now with this new death, Troy has no idea who is framing him.

Madison is loyal and believes in Troy’s innocence, and races to clear his name, going against the orders of her superiors not to investigate the case. Excluded from the official investigation, Madison has to walk a fine line, interviewing the female friends from all those years ago, to try to unravel who could be the real killer. Who is someone in the past that is framing and targeting Troy?

What follows is an exciting, tense, riveting police procedural action filled thriller, as well as surprising developments. I am not a big fan of Madison Knight, but in this book, she was very good, especially determined to find a way to free Troy. Murder at the Lake was a constant guessing game, as there were a number of twists throughout, with lots of suspense and intrigue.  Murder on the Lake was so very well written by Carolyn Arnold.   If you enjoy mysteries, police procedurals, a tough as nails cop, then you need to be reading this series, as Carolyn Arnold is one of the best in police procedure stories.

Reviewed by Barb

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