cj_mo_2222's review
5.0
Catch Your Death is the sixth book in Lissa Marie Redmond’s Cold Case Investigations series. I started reading this excellent series with book number four and am so glad I found it. The main character is Lauren Riley, a homicide detective in Buffalo, New York. She lives platonically with her work partner, Shane Reese, but the two seem to be denying deeper feelings they have for each other.
While following up on a tip on an old mob hit, Lauren and Shane run into one of Reese’s old friends. Christopher Sloan invites the two of them to a pre-opening of a luxury spa and boutique hotel he and his wife have started located about an hour away. Lauren had just learned that her partner has been investigating the cold case of an old friend on his own. Shane, Christopher and the other people who are going to the pre-opening event were all friends with Jessica, so Lauren decides this is a perfect chance to launch her own investigation of the case.
To get up to speed on the case, Lauren reads the old transcripts from when Shane and his friends were questioned by the police. I loved this unique format of giving the details of the old case! It was more interesting than the typical dual timeline storytelling and didn’t get in the way of the suspense of the current events. That tension really ramps up when all of the guests are snowed in at the hotel because of a blizzard and one of Shane’s old friends is murdered! This seems to be tied to Jessica’s murder, so Lauren isn’t able to include Shane in much of the investigation because he was never officially ruled out as a suspect in that case. There is a dramatic resolution to the case when Lauren and Shane gather all the suspects together for the big reveal. I was surprised to learn who the killer was, even though some clues were there. This book works well as a standalone mystery, but fans of the series will love the final scenes between Lauren and Shane. 4.5 stars
I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
While following up on a tip on an old mob hit, Lauren and Shane run into one of Reese’s old friends. Christopher Sloan invites the two of them to a pre-opening of a luxury spa and boutique hotel he and his wife have started located about an hour away. Lauren had just learned that her partner has been investigating the cold case of an old friend on his own. Shane, Christopher and the other people who are going to the pre-opening event were all friends with Jessica, so Lauren decides this is a perfect chance to launch her own investigation of the case.
To get up to speed on the case, Lauren reads the old transcripts from when Shane and his friends were questioned by the police. I loved this unique format of giving the details of the old case! It was more interesting than the typical dual timeline storytelling and didn’t get in the way of the suspense of the current events. That tension really ramps up when all of the guests are snowed in at the hotel because of a blizzard and one of Shane’s old friends is murdered! This seems to be tied to Jessica’s murder, so Lauren isn’t able to include Shane in much of the investigation because he was never officially ruled out as a suspect in that case. There is a dramatic resolution to the case when Lauren and Shane gather all the suspects together for the big reveal. I was surprised to learn who the killer was, even though some clues were there. This book works well as a standalone mystery, but fans of the series will love the final scenes between Lauren and Shane. 4.5 stars
I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
fictionfan's review
5.0
Note to self: Never go to school reunions…
Detective Shane Reese bumps into an old school friend who invites him to a class reunion to take place in a new luxury spa hotel the friend is about to open. His partner, Detective Lauren Riley, is invited along too. But this class has a shared tragedy in their past – just as they graduated high school, one of their classmates, Jessica, was brutally murdered. All the classmates were suspects and the case was never solved, so they’ve all lived with that shadow over them. So when one of them, Erika, announces on the first evening of the reunion that she knows who killed Jessica and is going to reveal it on her true crime podcast, it’s not too surprising when she too is killed. Meantime, a blizzard has blown up and the hotel is snowed in. So the local police are relying on Riley to hold things together till they can get through…
Although this is the sixth in a series, it’s my first Redmond, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a traditional style mystery with the clear intent of mirroring the “closed circle” mysteries that were a standard of the vintage crime writers, but in a modern setting complete with modern technology and policing methods. Not in any way a cosy, but it’s also nowhere near as dark or graphic as a lot of modern crime fiction.
I liked Riley as a character. She bears some scars from physical injuries she has acquired throughout her career, but she is a well-adjusted, stable person who seems happily angst-free. There is clearly a past between her and her partner, Shane Reese, that goes beyond a strictly working relationship. The two live together in the sense of sharing a house, although as the book begins they are not romantic partners. It's fairly obvious, though, that their relationship may be heading in that direction. In this book Riley has to take the lead because Reese, being one of the classmates, is himself a suspect. I don’t know if they work more closely as equal partners in earlier books in the series.
The plot is interesting and there’s a good variety of suspects – a failing actor, a drunken creep, a jealous husband, the jealousy-inducing wife, a computer games millionaire, the spa owner, and of course Detective Reese. The idea of a group of people being snowed in may not be the most original in the world, but it’s effective, and Redmond handles it well and credibly. The reason the original investigators failed to find the murderer was that all of the suspects had the means and the opportunity to kill Jessica, but no one seemed to have a strong enough motive. This will be the problem for Riley, too, since clearly the motive for Erika’s death is her threat to reveal who killed Jessica. I’m not convinced it could really be described as fair play, but the pacing is very good so that it kept my attention and I didn’t mind so much that I hadn’t had access to the vital piece of information that finally told Riley who the murderer was.
Well written, I felt this was well above average in the current field of traditional police procedurals. A good mystery, nothing too gruesome, zero swearing and some likeable lead characters – my kind of book! I’ll be backtracking to catch up with the earlier books in the series and am looking forward to seeing what Redmond produces in the future.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Severn House, via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Detective Shane Reese bumps into an old school friend who invites him to a class reunion to take place in a new luxury spa hotel the friend is about to open. His partner, Detective Lauren Riley, is invited along too. But this class has a shared tragedy in their past – just as they graduated high school, one of their classmates, Jessica, was brutally murdered. All the classmates were suspects and the case was never solved, so they’ve all lived with that shadow over them. So when one of them, Erika, announces on the first evening of the reunion that she knows who killed Jessica and is going to reveal it on her true crime podcast, it’s not too surprising when she too is killed. Meantime, a blizzard has blown up and the hotel is snowed in. So the local police are relying on Riley to hold things together till they can get through…
Although this is the sixth in a series, it’s my first Redmond, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a traditional style mystery with the clear intent of mirroring the “closed circle” mysteries that were a standard of the vintage crime writers, but in a modern setting complete with modern technology and policing methods. Not in any way a cosy, but it’s also nowhere near as dark or graphic as a lot of modern crime fiction.
I liked Riley as a character. She bears some scars from physical injuries she has acquired throughout her career, but she is a well-adjusted, stable person who seems happily angst-free. There is clearly a past between her and her partner, Shane Reese, that goes beyond a strictly working relationship. The two live together in the sense of sharing a house, although as the book begins they are not romantic partners. It's fairly obvious, though, that their relationship may be heading in that direction. In this book Riley has to take the lead because Reese, being one of the classmates, is himself a suspect. I don’t know if they work more closely as equal partners in earlier books in the series.
The plot is interesting and there’s a good variety of suspects – a failing actor, a drunken creep, a jealous husband, the jealousy-inducing wife, a computer games millionaire, the spa owner, and of course Detective Reese. The idea of a group of people being snowed in may not be the most original in the world, but it’s effective, and Redmond handles it well and credibly. The reason the original investigators failed to find the murderer was that all of the suspects had the means and the opportunity to kill Jessica, but no one seemed to have a strong enough motive. This will be the problem for Riley, too, since clearly the motive for Erika’s death is her threat to reveal who killed Jessica. I’m not convinced it could really be described as fair play, but the pacing is very good so that it kept my attention and I didn’t mind so much that I hadn’t had access to the vital piece of information that finally told Riley who the murderer was.
Well written, I felt this was well above average in the current field of traditional police procedurals. A good mystery, nothing too gruesome, zero swearing and some likeable lead characters – my kind of book! I’ll be backtracking to catch up with the earlier books in the series and am looking forward to seeing what Redmond produces in the future.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Severn House, via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
annarella's review
4.0
Another good mystery by this author. A limited number of possible suspect, a murder in the past that could be related to one in the present.
A solid mystery that kept me guessing and turning pages.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
A solid mystery that kept me guessing and turning pages.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
sheila713's review
4.0
I've read, and thoroughly enjoyed, all of Lissa Marie Redmond's books. Looking forward to whatever she comes up with next.
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