Charlene Reviews: Shades of Murder by Lauren Carr

ISBN #: 978-1470082444

Page Count: 230

Copyright: May 8, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

Question: What do you get the man with everything?

Answer: When that man is the heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, you get him cold case to solve.

In Shades of Murder, Mac Faraday is once again the heir to an unbelievable fortune. This time the benefactor is a stolen art collector. But this isn't just any stolen work-of-art - it's a masterpiece with a murder attached to it.

Ilysa Ramsay was in the midst of taking the art world by storm with her artistic genius. Hours after unveiling her latest masterpiece - she is found dead in her Deep Creek Lake studio - and her painting is nowhere to be found.

Almost a decade later, the long lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece has found its way into Mac Faraday's hands and he can't resist the urge to delve into the case. A world away, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; former JAG lawyer Joshua Thornton agrees to do a favor for the last person he would ever expect to do a favor - a convicted serial killer.

The Favor: Solve the one murder wrongly attributed to him. Joshua finds an unexpected ally in Cameron Gates, a spunky detective who has reason to believe the young woman known to the media only as Jane Doe, Victim Number Four, was the victim of a copycat.

Together, Joshua and Cameron set out to light a flame under the cold case only to find that someone behind the scenes wants the case to remain cold, and is willing to kill to keep it that way. Little do these detectives know that the paths of their respective cases are on a collision course when they follow the clues to bring them together in a showdown with a killer who's got a talent for murder!

Charlene's Review:

Shades of Murder begins in Maryland with the murder of an up and coming artist. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, JAG lawyer, Joshua Thornton, makes a promise to a convicted serial killer that he will find who really murdered the one lady he was wrongly accused of killing. As the plot develops, many twists and turns occur, and soon, the detectives are working together to solve what may or may not be all the same crime.

Lauren Carr could give Agatha Christie a run for her money! This hypnotic page-turner is a whirlwind of romance, murder, and espionage. Lots of creativity went into the unforeseen twists, and culminated in a climactic ending that tied the multi-faceted story into a nice little package. I also appreciated the special attention paid to the animal characters, which were every bit as developed as their human counterparts. This was an absolutely delightful read that is sure to be a hit with mystery readers. I look forward to reading her other books, as I am now a fan!


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.