One Inner Voice, Book One
Five of five stars given – and if I could have, I’d have doubled them!
“Jeremiah 33:5 [New International Version]
“In the fight with the Babylonians: They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness”.
*****
There’s a serial killer on the loose. They’ve dubbed this one The Church Killer because of a preference for dumping the bodies in front of a church. And the note that is left with each corpse.
The death toll is up to six before Randy, Danny, and the team catch even a slim break or two. While the bodies pile up, there’s a good deal of humour in Wyont’s narrative. I often catch myself chuckling at the interactions of the lead detectives and their wives. When ultimately, it’s Randy’s wife Margaret who puts them on the right track, it just seems to fit.
This is a cozy with a bit of a difference. You will love the characters, and the humour that’s injected through these books is great. These aren’t, strictly speaking, amateurs because they’re police detectives; but the wives – who have a good bit of input – are most definitely the fresh eye that the weary police detectives need. The pile up of bodies – while not being explicitly bloody – might be daunting, so be prepared. But please don’t let it put you off, you’ll miss some great writing if you do!
Great characters and a gripping tale; I never imagined the identity of the killer! And it doesn’t stop there, there’s a twist coming that makes this whodunnit totally unexpected. Yet it all makes perfect sense too.
Inner Voice mentions Finding Miss Write by Gena Webb, and that novel also mentions Inner Voice. I find that detail interesting and amusing at the same time. It’s like books happening in real life, but not. Quite a plot point. The books interact quite a bit throughout both series’ actually, it’s a fun tidbit.
Highly recommend, I’m swiftly moving on to Book Two!
[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]
**********
One Strange Accident, Book Two
Five of five stars given
When you’re reading a murder mystery and you’re laughing your ass off, but still turning the pages to find out what’s next, that’s one damn good story!
And One Strange Accident is exactly that!
Randy and Danny are back and they have another serial killer on their hands. Imagine if you will, a young man – barely out of college – suddenly finds himself plowing his car into a busload of seniors on tour. When questioned, he’s tortured by what happened and can only say that his mind was a complete blank. He had no intention of doing it, but he had no control over himself and no power to stop the inevitable.
As the team starts to investigate, it’s clear that there’s something else afoot here. Something sinister. Something they need to stop, as the trail of unexplained, confounding accidents gets longer and filled with more and more dead bodies. Someone is out to prove something, it’s up to Randy and Danny to stop it in its tracks.
There’s a temporary addition to the team in this book and that’s Frank – and after the initiation razzing, he’s fitting into the team well, giving as good as he gets. One of the things that attracts me most about these books is the camaraderie of the characters. They poke and prod and make fun with each other just as you would with your coworkers and friends. It makes it all seem more real in some ways, but that humour also serves to take the edge off the ever-growing death toll. Because make no mistake, all the fun and light-hearted jocularity aside, these books are seriously about solving murders!
Book Three is about ready, but unavoidably delayed because of COVID, and I happen to know that Book Four is in the works as well. While I’m sad that I’ve got to the end of these two, I’m happy to know more are coming. Go grab them!
[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]
Roxx Is Reading 