An Unfamiliar Murder

by: Jane Isaac

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Arriving home from a routine day at work, Anna Cottrell has no idea that her life is about to change forever. But discovering the stabbed body of a stranger in her flat, then becoming prime suspect in a murder enquiry is only the beginning. Her persistent claims of innocence start to crumble when new evidence links her irrevocably with the victim...

Leading her first murder enquiry, DCI Helen Lavery unravels a trail of deception, family secrets and betrayal. When people close to the Cottrell family start to disappear, Lavery is forced into a race against time. Can she catch the killer before he executes his ultimate victim?

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I've seen this cover before...and I know I wanted to read the book. Because you may not judge a book by it's cover, but you are either made curious or turned off. This one looked creepy.

And guess what? It was creepy! You really have no idea who is behind the murders. You kind of know someone is watching Anna. Even as you start guessing, new leads pop up and old ones fizzle out. It was a very exciting mystery.

I was especially captured by Helen Lavery, the...well we'd call her the Lead Detective. The story takes place in Great Britain, so there are some words and titles that are different. It's not so off-putting, though. It's charming how the accent seems to come through the writing. My new favorite word? "Fecking" - ha! It's not so crude and I swear I can hear an Irish accent every-time I see this word.

I didn't really find any slow spots, although there were just a couple places where I lost the train of the story. When Helen and her mother speak, they keep asking how the other is doing...and early in the story there was a time when it popped up and I'm thinking, no one asks this in the middle of a conversation.

This was a very strong mystery with so many twists and turns, you'll be unable to stop reading. Anna and Helen get the most character development, but the people around them get a fair amount as well. Some liked, others disliked and at least a few creepy dudes. You'll have to read to find out which one is the ultimate creepy dude!