An experienced mystery reader would
not be surprised that the ME declared the case to be murder…anaphylactic shock
from a coconut allergy. It starts like an ordinary police procedural, until, halfway
through, new evidence is uncovered, and the case changes entirely.
Beyond the Gene Washington mystery,
Lou has an ex-husband, a couple of potential boyfriends, and maybe a couple of
girlfriends. I am certain her complicated life, both love and PTSD, would have
made more sense if I hadn’t started at the fourth volume in the series. My bad.
The author does a great job of uncovering
new evidence that increases the scope of the crime and the mystery. What starts
as a routine death of an old person succumbing during a heat wave exacerbated
by air pollution (fires), keeps expanding as new evidence mounts up. This is a
case where every detail raises new possibilities of additional crimes and
murders, most of which turn out to be true.
One disappointment: the loose ends.
While I didn’t expect her love life to be resolved, this is, after all, a
series. However, his gold-digger girlfriend, who received a bequest of 375 gold
coins, and is often mentioned in the first half of the book, disappears.
If you’re looking for a fast-moving
mystery with lots of suspects and a few surprises, City of Saviors by
Rachel Howzell Hall could be the book for
you. Caveat: I started with number four of the series, so Lou’s personal life
didn’t make much sense. I’d recommend starting at the beginning.
No comments:
Post a Comment