Detective Darcy Lynch licks his wounds as a desk jockey after an undercover case gone bad. He’s handed a hit-and-run that quickly reveals itself as a brazen attempted murder—exactly the kind of case he was trying to avoid. Why would anyone want Saffron Meadows dead? An unexpected desire to protect her forces Lynch to stick with the case.
Meanwhile, seasoned Detective Erik Sorensen and his intern work a string of bizarre suicides with too much in common to be a mere coincidence. What could drive these people to carve their own flesh out?
As mysterious murders and suspicious suicides stack up in Silicon Valley, Lynch and his colleagues must connect the dots between the cases before more people die and panic spreads. Could all this be part of a cover-up? Is this just a hit man crossing names off of a list, or has one Valley startup gone too far?
Could there ever be a justification for murder?
Before I talk about the actual story I just have to say I was impressed with this book and author. Typically you can spot a self-published book at 20 paces. A general issue with overall editing is the prime giveaway. Sometimes I wonder if the friends who read the book for the writer even cares about their friend or just not wanting to hurt their feelings. You want me to read something, I'm gonna hand you back something with suggestions and errors highlighted all over the place. I'm not perfect, things slip through, and such is the case with this book but whole different level. There were some instances of missing words, wrong tenses and even just words mixed up. But they were so minimal I just decided to mention them because a. one was in the credits and b. I needed something to nitpick on. I mean the story line, the plausibility of it all was just that good for self pub.
If you have read many of my review you know that I frequent the mystery section. I frequent them all really a good mystery is a fallback of mine. And if you have read many of my review, or just get books in general, you know there's a basic formula that they follow and that books that follow too tightly don't play well for me. If I get the whole whodunit too soon I lose respect for the book. I may still like it but it takes it down a notch for me. This book hit the right notes at the right time and kept a pace that was overall enjoyable and kept me engaged right to the end. I figured a few things out as it went, but I was meant to. I was waiting for the author to drop the shoe I had already found. That to me makes a great mystery. Their was more than one storyline that all connected to the main storyline. The one drawback, for me, was that I felt like the reveal for the 'murders' was almost anticlimatic. The attention was so focused on the suicides and how they tied to the murders that something that could have been given more attention was dropped a bit to the wayside. That and I wanted to smack Darcy a time or too. He was a little too self-involved.
My favorite character was actually more a supporting role but he just stood out to me. Sorensen was just an overall likeable goof. He had a personality that was a good fit for his role in the book. He supported without taking the limelight but I would definitely hope to see more of him in future books. He was well developed enough to know that there was oh so much more to know about him. He felt like a typical guy, partly overgrown adolescent and partly solid family man. There are already three more books in this series so here's hoping that his role grows in those; since it's too late to get my bid in before they are published.
A solid 4 (if only half stars were an option) that takes something that could happen, mixes it with greed and self-interest, and turns it into a story that draws you in, educates you, and leaves you wanting just a little bit more.
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About Elin Barnes
Her passion for technology and great weather keep her in Silicon Valley where she lives with her dog Shelby and her 500 pairs of shoes.
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