Measured Deception

Nick Blaine Mystery, #1

by

Richard E. Kalk & T.A. Pryor

Good, traditional-style police procedural to kick off this new mystery series.

Measured Deception is the first book in the Nick Blaine Mystery series by the writing team of Richard E. Kalk and T.A. Pryor, and it is a very good new police procedural-style murder mystery investigation set in 1984 Los Angeles. Sergeant Detective Nice Blaine and his partner, Detective John Phillips, investigate the shooting death of Ainsley Brown, a young gay man, which occurred as he and his roommate parked their car in front of their apartment building. While there were several people on the scene, no one, including the surviving roommate, could give the detectives definitive details of what happened or where or how the murderer fled. However, many of the young man’s friends and family members implicated Ainsley’s self-proclaimed godfather, Rodney Williams, the man who was paying Ainsley’s way through beauty school, as his killer. The accusations and conflicting reports of Rodney’s relationship with Ainsley and the discovery that he is the beneficiary of multiple life insurance policies taken out on the young man’s life raise the detectives’ suspicions, as does his long history of contacts with local law enforcement. But without a shred of concrete evidence that Rodney is behind the murder, all they can do is continue to search for clues. 

Sergeant Detective Nick Blaine is an interesting character who is totally focused on his cases but willing to discuss his illustrious career with a reporter who needs a human-interest story. Having lost his wife and only child in a traffic accident a couple of years earlier, he’s at the age where he should be winding down. However, his gut is telling him something is off with this case, and he’s not ready to hang up his shield. 

Detective John Phillips is Blaine’s able and capable partner with his own family drama. Estranged from his much-loved and looked-up-to older brother, Stephen, the investigation into the Ainsley Brown murder exposes his parents’ struggles with their eldest son’s sexual orientation and lifestyle choices. 

The plot follows the traditional path of an old-school police procedural, with the detectives working every angle in person out in the community. It was an interesting realization that while 1984 doesn’t seem that long ago, it’s actually 40 years, and a lot of technological advances in everyday life have been made, let alone law enforcement, that we take for granted today: no cellphones, no personal computers even. If you wanted to talk to a suspect, you had to catch them at their house or workplace, even for a phone call. Answering machines weren’t even that common. However, dogged persistence and attention to every clue finally pay off for the two detectives, but the resolution doesn’t happen before additional tragedy strikes. 

With an interesting and intrepid pair of detectives, reminiscent of Sergeant Joe Friday and Detective Bill Gannon of Dragnet fame, and an engaging style of storytelling, I recommend MEASURED DECEPTION to mystery readers, especially those who enjoy the police procedural sub-genre. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

A Basket Case

Maddie Sparks Mystery, #2

by

Lesley A. Diehl

Intriguing double mysteries and complex personal relationships combine for a compelling story.

A Basket Case is the second book in author Lesley A. Diehl’s intriguing Maddie Sparks Mystery series. Still, newcomers to the series can easily pick up, catch up, and enjoy it as an introduction or standalone. When a director at the museum where Maddie’s granddaughter is completing a college internship and she is volunteering is murdered right before completing the turnover of Native American artifacts to local tribes, Sara’s boyfriend’s father, a well-known Native American activist and a claimant to one of the museum’s holdings is accused of the crime. Maddie, convinced he didn’t do it, enlists her defense attorney son, Richard, to represent the man in the white justice system and her love interest, former local sheriff Zack Montgomery, to investigate and find the real killer. 

Maddie and Zack had grown serious and close over the summer; however, when he returns from a trip to visit his adult daughter, Amy, he shows up not only with her but with Mary Sanders, a woman with whom Zack apparently had a long history, one Amy has decided he should rekindle. Maddie is stunned when Zack bows to his daughter’s wishes and moves his things from Maddie’s place into the B&B where Amy and Mary are staying. Knowing Amy is fighting a battle with drug addiction and needs her father’s support, Maddie tries to understand his actions and, though heartbroken, goes along with the situation. Maddie and Zack’s interactions are awkward and hard to watch unfold, especially with Mary stirring the pot every chance she gets. Zack comes across as weak and indecisive in his handling of his relationships, but he’s being torn apart by his need to be there for his daughter and be with the woman with whom he’s already fallen in love. His blindness to Mary’s toxicity and lack of the skills his daughter needs goes on way too long, and there are consequences. 

The situation at the museum is also more complex than originally imagined. There is evidence of a very toxic work environment with ongoing incidents of harassment, racism, and misogyny, and pieces from the museum’s collections are suddenly going missing, with forged lookalikes left in their place. Sara discovers the discrepancies and shares her concerns with her grandmother, but their knowledge may have put them in the crosshairs of a killer. Although clues are hard to come by, Maddie and her friends are able to piece together enough plausible hypotheses to conduct an investigation, though with so much going on in the story, their efforts were scattershot for much of the book. The difficulties in the various personal relationships really distracted everyone: Maddie, Zack, and even Sara, who had to deal with her protective parents and being in a mixed-race relationship. However, red herrings come and go as plot twists complicate an already intricate case but guaranteed my attention and entertainment until the final resolution. 

I recommend A BASKET CASE to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy a more mature set of sleuths, strong female protagonists, relationship-heavy plots, and behind-the-scenes looks at museum operations. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

A Shade of Vampire

A Shade of Vampire, Book 1

by

Bella Forrest

A fun, easy-to-enjoy vampire story.

This very imaginative tale is told in first person from the perspective of the two main characters and features our world with vampires living in seclusion on a hidden island fortress. The leader of the vampire community, Derek Novak, has been asleep for 400 hundred years since establishing the secret sanctuary. But Derek is scheduled to wake up soon. 

The vampires of this coven leave the island periodically to kidnap humans to use as slaves and their source of nourishment. In preparation for Derek regaining consciousness, his sister and brother kidnap several young and beautiful girls to serve him in his harem, and in doing so, select Sofia Claremont, who was discovered walking along a deserted beach on her 17th birthday after arguing with her best friend, Ben. When Derek awakens, he is taken with the young captive as he fights to control his blood hunger, and eventually, they become emotionally involved with each other. 

The story has interesting characters with unusual backstories. Sofia grew up under difficult circumstances and was taken under the wings of Ben's family. She was falling in love with Ben. Derek was once a hunter of vampires and was "turned" by his father. Derek's older brother, Lucas, has been passed over to rule the coven in favor of Derek courtesy of a prophecy. The island's protection against discovery by the vampire hunters was set in place by Cora, a powerful witch whom Derek wooed to the vampires' side. Cora, dead for centuries, has been succeeded through the years by her descendants, currently by one named Corrine. Ben also reappears to complicate the story further. 

The setting is fun and imaginative. The island itself, known as "The Shade," is kept in eternal night by a spell crafted and maintained by Cora and her family. Prisoners are kept in "The Cells" and slaves in "The Catacombs." A medieval town known as "The Vale" and "The Baths" serve as the meeting, shopping, and social centers of the coven. The members of the first vampire families are known as "The Elite" and live in modern, fantastic tree houses or villas, with the members of the royal family residing in the best of the best – "The Penthouse." 

Mystery, murder, a foiled escape attempt, and romance all serve to spice up this fairly short (152 pages) and quick introduction to the world and characters of this series. I recommend A SHADE OF VAMPIRE to readers of vampire stories.

For this and my other reviews, go to Boys' Mom Reads!

A Coastal Corpse

Seffi Wardwell Mystery, #1

by

Rebecca M. Douglass

A great start to this cozy mystery series featuring retired science teacher Seffi Wardwell.

A Coastal Corpse is the first book in veteran author Rebecca M. Douglass’s coastal Maine-set cozy Seffi Wardwell Mystery series, which launched in August of 2023. This smart senior sleuth from California is a retired science teacher who has relocated to the village of Smelt Point to recuperate from lingering COVID at the urging of a former student who is now the local police officer. However, rather than finding the rest and comfort of small-town living she anticipated, she finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation and surrounded by the unfriendly and suspicious faces of her new neighbors. 

I liked Seffi from the start and sympathized with her physical limitations brought on by her struggles recuperating from COVID. She was so relatable as she encountered the many challenges that the illness had left her with on top of those presented by the aging process. Seffi is 72 years old, however, her mind and attitude are still sharp, clear, and healthy, and she quickly decides to help solve the murder of the town’s pariah – Al Conkin, a local man the residents blamed for a death and injuries that occurred years earlier at his family’s fish plant. 

The depiction of life during the pandemic is somewhat unique in that most mysteries seem to avoid the timeframe, choosing to begin their story well after quarantines, masking, and vaccines are history or skip mentioning it entirely. In the story, vaccines have already been made available, but the precautions of that time are still fresh. Seffi’s debilitated physical condition was sad and hard to watch but realistic. The unfriendly attitude of Smelt Point’s residents toward newcomers was appalling, and I hope it was an exaggeration of a reputation for being unwelcoming. While Seffi makes some headway in gaining friends in her new hometown, it isn’t easy, and she herself is reticent to open up and reveal her past life. The plot is compelling, offering complexity and a welcome freshness, despite sounding a bit like a Bizarro episode of Murder, She Wrote.

I highly recommend A COASTAL CORPSE to cozy mystery fans, especially those who would enjoy a Maine setting or LGBT representation.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

Crimes After Hours

by

Daniela Alibrandi

A MultiDimensional crime tale of menace and murder!

Crimes After Hours is a new-to-the-U.S. market tale of murder and madness by renowned Italian mystery writer Daniela Alibrandi. A bitter, lonely woman working in a governmental administrative office pokes around in her coworkers’ desks after hours to discover any secrets she might later be able to use against them, while a murderer lurks in the dank and shadowy tunnels that run beneath the buildings in the area. As the nosy typist uncovers a secret she never should have seen, the murderer handpicks their own victims. Suspense rises from every page, and menace oozes from each encounter with the hiding-in-plain-sight murderer, creating a tense story that readers will be loath to put down for even a minute. 

The author weaves her story, which is a genre-crossing blend of murder mystery, police procedural, noir, and thriller, around the points of view of a number of characters, including that of the killer, whose frightening intensity was downright chilling. There are also main characters, such as Alice Pendia, the nosy typist mentioned in the book’s synopsis, and Commissioner Riccardo Rosco, the lead detective, who are somewhat difficult to like, at least initially. 

The plot is intriguing, and there is more than one mystery to work out. While one resolution is straightforward, another comes as quite a surprise. In true noir fashion, Rosco succumbs to some femme fatale temptation, resulting in a very sexy adult situation that doesn’t bode well for his career. 

The author sets her story in Rome, where the busy streets, the Tiber River, and small eateries and pizzerias provide charming backdrops to many of the scenes. However, it was the tunnels underneath the city that connect whole neighborhoods of office and apartment buildings that really made an interesting and sinister impression on me. The action occurred in the not-too-distant past (the late 70s-early 80s), prior to much of the technological advantages we now take for granted. Getting to work on an electric typewriter was an office coup, and the ubiquitous carbon paper was as much a mess in the story as I remember it being in reality. Landlines are the norm with cell phones, let alone smartphones, yet a thing of the future. 

The novel was written and published originally in Italian, so this edition is an English translation. I had some difficulty falling into the cadence of the narrative at first but eventually adjusted as the story progressed. At times, the translation doesn’t quite work, and this would disrupt the flow of the story until the true meaning became apparent. This version would benefit from another pass by a native English speaker. 

I recommend CRIMES AFTER HOURS to readers who enjoy traditional mysteries, police procedurals, noir thrillers, and suspense. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.