The follow-up to Bekker’s strong debut (Sunset, 2012) is a pleasing combination of thriller and police procedural with some...
A former cop takes on a case as a favor to a friend in a jam.
John Bekker was once an excellent cop. After his wife was raped and murdered in front of his daughter, however, he sought refuge in a bottle. Now he’s sober, his daughter is slowly recovering, and his romance with his sister-in-law, Janet, looks to be leading to a stable family life. Even so, he takes a chance on ruining it all when state prosecutor Carly Simms is found drunk, bloody and naked in a cheap motel with the much younger and very dead Jon Hughes. Although not even Simms knows whether she’s guilty, Bekker agrees to investigate and gets her a great lawyer. A big favor Bekker did for a dying Mafioso earned him not only a lot of money, but also many useful connections. Since Hughes, a computer programmer, was raised in an orphanage in Utah, Bekker goes there to investigate, garnering a list of names of his friends and a chance to interview some of them. Despite the evidence, Bekker thinks Simms is innocent. He’s very curious about her missing gun, Hughes’ equally missing computer and the fact that no one knows how the couple got from a bar to the motel. When several others are found dead, Bekker has lots of leads, but in the end, he must set himself up as bait in a plan to discover the truth.
The follow-up to Bekker’s strong debut (Sunset, 2012) is a pleasing combination of thriller and police procedural with some kinky twists.Pub Date: July 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4328-2714-4
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Five Star
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
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