Female Detective
Showing posts with label Female Detective. Show all posts

One Dead Two to Go

Friday, 22 July 2016

Written by: Elena Hartwell
Narrated by: Moira Driscoll
Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins 
Series: Eddie Shoes Mystery, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:04-15-16
Publisher: Audible Studios
5 STARS

Publishers Summary
Private Investigator Edwina "Eddie Shoes" Schultz's most recent job has her parked outside a seedy Bellingham hotel, photographing her quarry as he kisses his mistress goodbye. This is the last anyone will see of the woman...alive. Her body is later found dumped in an abandoned building. Eddie's client, Kendra Hallings, disappears soon after. Eddie hates to be stiffed for her fee, but she has to wonder if Kendra could be in trouble too. Or is she the killer?
Eddie usually balks at matters requiring a gun, but before she knows it, she is knee-deep in dangerous company, spurred on by her card-counting adrenaline-junkie mother who has shown up on her doorstep fresh from the shenanigans that got her kicked out of Vegas. Chava is only 16 years older than Eddie and sadly lacking in parenting skills. Her unique areas of expertise, however, prove to be helpful in ways Eddie can't deny, making it hard to stop Chava from tagging along.
Also investigating the homicide is Detective Chance Parker, new to Bellingham's Major Crimes unit, but no stranger to Eddie. Their history as a couple back in Seattle is one more kink in a chain of complications, making Eddie's case more frustrating and perilous with each tick of the clock.
©2016 Elena Hartwell (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Review
This is great start to a new series, Edwina Schultz was right to change her name "Eddie Shoes" is a far more appropriate and cool name for a Private Investigator. She herself is cool and feisty, but she isn't one of those hard headed female P.I.s who are always making ridiculous choices that land them in predictably dangerous situations. 

I enjoyed the plot, being a relatively short book it moves along at quite a pace which keeps the reader interested. 
Eddie gets a lot more than she bargained for when she takes on the case of the wronged wife looking for hard evidence of her husbands infidelity. When Kendra, the mistress, turns up dead the action starts.

Just to add to Eddies problems Chava, her mother turns up. Chava, being a mere 16 years older than her daughter, has not been the most motherly of mothers. Now she has got herself in to a bit of a fix and needs a roof over her head for a while and decides to visit her daughter. She is a wonderfully written character, quirky and just as feisty as her daughter bringing a whole new and interesting dynamic to the story. I hope she stays around a long time as I loved reading about their evolving relationship.

Later in the story a mysterious hero comes to Eddies rescue, a fabulous chap, a real big fella whom I'm pretty sure we will all come to love. 

I thought that this was a thoroughly enjoyable story, well written with fresh and interesting characters, hopefully this is the first of a nice long series. 

Narrator
Moira Driscoll was an excellent choice for this book, she gave each character a distinctive and easily identifiable voice. I thought she captured Eddies character perfectly, lively and feisty when appropriate, I especially appreciated how she conveyed all the hidden undercurrents of emotion in the relationship between Eddie and Chava. An all round high quality production.

Audiobook provided by the author, publisher or narrator in return for an unbiased review

The Girl in the Ice

Monday, 15 February 2016

  • Publisher: Bookouture (February 12, 2016)
  • Publication Date: February 12, 2016
  • Sold by: Amazon
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B019G6DSDE
  • ISBN 9781910751763

    3 Star review

    Excerpt from publishers summary:

    "When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

    The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London."

    My Review

    I don't like to disagree with everyone else, but I was asked for an honest review in return for my Netgalley ARC and this is it.

    The prologue, written from the victims point of view, seemed promising, full of intrigue and tension, and the anticipation of getting a good read hooked me. Sorry to say it, but for me it all went downhill from there on, my disillusionment began with Erika. Erika is the lead character and, like so many fictional female detectives, is emotionally damaged and socially inept. She resents authority and goes her own way against all orders and common sense. She is hell bent on her own theory and won't cooperate with anyone else. That her presence will engender resentment from her new colleagues pretty much goes without saying. I'm not even sure she should even have been placed in that particular setting. Would the Metropolitan Police Force, with all their resources really bring in an officer from another territory to investigate a murder? Would the officers really act in the manner portrayed? I don't think it likely, not these days but then, I'm sure the author would have used the services of a police media advisor.

    There were far too many stereotypical characters for my liking, even the old prostitute is a dirty, foul mouthed, ill mannered, drug addicted woman with crooked brown teeth. The working classes and criminals are portrayed as arrogant and ill mannered because they are poor, and the are rich portrayed as arrogant and ill mannered because they are privileged.

    I thought it was a real shame because the actual plot itself is quite good and that is what earns it the 3rd star. It failed for me though because the whole story ran along predictable lines, including the usual part where the protagonist finds herself facing almost certain death (and that's not a spoiler because we know it's a serial). Having said that, judging by the number of 5 stars and the gushing comments, this style of writing must be exactly what many people want to read, I'm just not one of them.

    ARC provided by Netgalley and Bookouture in return for an honest review.


 
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