Saturday, June 22, 2013

{Review} A Guilty Mind by Kellie Larsen Murphy

ISBN #: 978-1478239062
Page Count: 336
Copyright: September 10, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform


Book Summary:
(Taken from back cover)

When secrets have deadly consequences ...

George Vandenberg is a broken man with a volatile temper, haunted by the memory of the young woman he once loved and "accidentally" killed. Wrestling with the guilt and punished by his psychiatrist to confess the circumstances of her death, he teeters on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

The past collides with the present when the doctor turns up dead, brutally stabbed to death in his office. Stunned and confused, George emerges as the primary suspect even as he becomes a target himself. To prove his innocence, George must face the police, his manipulative wife, and the past he's been unable to forget. When the truth is finally divulged, no one, including George, is prepared for the collateral damage or the shocking identity of the killer.


Allen's Review:

The only thing I ever found wrong with this story line was that - to me, personally - it has a slow start. Other than that, it's engrossing, and full of twists and turns that keep the reader coming back. It's easy to sympathize with one of the main characters (George) as his mental anguish from his past slowly reveals itself. Knowing that he has a manipulative and domineering wife really helps to nail home the level and depth of his torment.

The murder itself was, obviously, anything but cut-and-dry (THAT would make for too short a tale). Working through the clues with the lead detective, I was so certain of my deductive-reasoning powers that I knew I had the killer figured out by the 3/4 mark in the book. Enter unthought-of twist from left field ...

All I can say is that it isn't who you would have thought it was, and it isn't who you would have thought it wasn't ... which makes no kind of sense on the surface, but hey, this is a twisty-turny corkscrew kind of murder mystery, right?! It's probably not too far of a stretch to say this story would be worthy of an "AHA!" from Sherlock Holmes even.

All in all, a tale worth the telling, a proverbial yarn that will make the reader do some thinking, and a fine way to engage in a private bedtime story read. Personally, I enjoyed A Guilty Mind enough to give it a second read and just to get to the last 1/4 of the book with it's surprising twist. I would recommend it, and will - for myself - be making the time to read it again.


*A paperback copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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