Murder In Mind by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by FernLooking for a brilliant bestselling murder mystery with a feisty female detective?
DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE IS SOLVING THE COLD CASES NO ONE ELSE COULD CRACK.
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS THE WORK OF A NARROW MIND.
Seventy-five-year-old Sylvia Perkins was found battered to death in her home in 2010. The murder weapon was suspected to be a fire poker and it seems she was quite popular with older gentlemen.
Her grandson Robbie inherited everything, but he can’t be placed at the scene of the crime.
WHO KILLED THIS HARMLESS OLD WOMAN AND WHY? AND WHAT SECRETS WAS SHE HIDING?
Hillary also has a new boss and a baffling cold case to contend with, not to mention a marriage proposal to consider.
Hillary Greene has returned to Thames Valley Police HQ, acting as a cold-case consultant for the Crime Review Team, looking into murders which the police have never been able to solve.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back. But solving crimes is irresistible for Hillary Greene.
This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from start to the absolutely thrilling conclusion.
Ex-DI Hillary Greene has settled well into the CRT team working cold cases – and focusing, of course, on unsolved murders. With a few things going on with her team members and a heavy question weighing over her personal life, Hillary is almost relived to be focusing on trying to solve an eight year cold murder of an elderly lady in her home. Can Hillary continue to juggle the many balls all revolving around in her life?
I have been greatly enjoying this series and feel this author has hit a really good stride. With a number of longer-running story arcs continuing in this book, I feel a lesser author might have unwittingly allowed the murder case to take a slight back seat to all the other items going on. I was pleased, therefore that this wasn’t the case.
There is clearly a few larger plotlines percolating in the background – Hillary and her long term lover as well as the plotline around Jake and his revenge, his hopes to drag Hillary onto the case with him – these both make some progress in this book and clearly are gearing up for more action in the coming book or two. I also am greatly enjoying the strides both Jimmy and Wendy – the other two members of Hillary’s team – are making.
I was very pleased that none of these things detracted from the main murder mystery which moved along at a good pace. This is very much a British police procedural – not an action thriller or a high-octane bangs every few minutes story. But I have to admit I enjoy reading the interviews and putting the puzzle together along with Hillary and trying to sort it all out for myself. The slightly slower pace gives us mere mortals a good chance to crack it for ourselves and really that’s half the fun with these mysteries.
I found this to be an excellent read, with good plotting, characters and a nice steady pace. An excellent addition to the series and a thoroughly enjoyable book. Recommended.
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