Tag: #privateinvestigator

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Fatal Fortune by Miranda Rijks

Fatal Fortune by Miranda Rijks

#FatalFortune @MIrandaRijks @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

***

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Fatal Fortune Blog Tour.

I love reading the first book in a new mystery series and finding new characters to follow. I am also always happy when the ending has a twist that I was not expecting. This book has both.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, and the author’s information and social media links. Enjoy!

***

Book Blurb:

Is someone trying to frame psychologist Pippa Durrant for the brutal murder of a woman she’s never even met?
 
It certainly seems that way when Pippa’s photo is found on the body of murdered lottery winner, Leanne Smith.
 
Pippa soon finds herself a suspect at the centre of a huge media storm. But she has an invaluable skill set – she is a human polygraph, expertly trained to spot lies and deceit. Skills she will need to help her to solve the mystery of who killed Leanne before it destroys her career – and her life.
 
But every cloud has a silver lining and this one arrives in the shape of DS Joe Swain. Initially suspicious of Pippa, he comes to trust her and to value her lie detection skills. Soon it’s clear there’s a definite spark between them….
 
Then, when another body turns up, Pippa realises her reputation isn’t the only thing in danger. Can she identify the killer before she becomes the next victim?

Fatal Fortune is the electrifying first book in the Dr. Pippa Durrant Thriller Series. If you like edge-of-your-seat action, clever sleuths, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Miranda Rijks’ gripping crime novel.

***

My Book Review:

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

FATAL FORTUNE (A Dr. Pippa Durrant Mystery Book 1) by Miranda Rijks is the first book in a new mystery series featuring psychologist Dr. Pippa Durrant.

Leanne Smith won the lottery. As she plans for her future, Leanne is found murdered and a photo of Pippa is left on her body, but Pippa does not know Leanne or her family. Pippa does not like being a suspect. She is losing her private practice clients due to the notoriety so she agrees to work with DS Swain to get her life back.

Pippa has a talent for criminal work. She was a forensic psychologist while working on her PhD and has studied micro expressions as a way of being able to read the truth in facial expressions. She is like a human lie detector. She has also studied graphology. Pippa changed to more main stream private practice after the loss of her daughter and the disintegration of her marriage.

DS Joe Swain is at first suspicious of Pippa, but as he gets to know her and verifies her background, he starts to trust her and her skills. As they work together, he seems interested in more than just Pippa’s professional assistance.

Another dead body and another picture of Pippa on the body with a threat written on the back. Will Pippa and Joe be able to identify the killer before Pippa becomes the third victim?

I liked the fast paced murder mystery plot in this story. It kept me turning the pages. The twist at the end was not what I was expecting and that always makes me happy. The characters were realistically flawed and each has secrets that they are trying to keep. I still have questions in regards to Pippa’s professional and personal past which I hope will be answered in future books. I also will be interested to read how the author handles Pippa and Joe’s attraction.

I enjoyed this first mystery in the series and am looking forward to reading more.

***

About Miranda Rijks:

Miranda Rijks is a writer of suspense novels. I WANT YOU GONE is her first psychological thriller.

Miranda has an eclectic background ranging from law to running a garden centre. She’s been writing all of her life and has a Masters in writing. A couple of years ago she decided to ditch the business plans and press releases and now she’s living the dream, writing suspense novels full time. She lives in Sussex, England with her Dutch husband, musician daughter and black Labrador.

Up next is FATAL FORTUNE, the first of three books in a mystery romance series that will be published in May 2019. They feature Dr Pippa Durrant, a psychologist and specialist in lie detection, who works alongside Sussex police getting embroiled in some scary stuff!

Miranda loves connecting with her readers, so you can reach out to her at www.mirandarijks.com

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaRijks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaRijksAuthor/

Website: www.mirandarijks.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mirandarijksauthor/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3AMiranda+Rijks&s=relevancerank&text=Miranda+Rijks&ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fatal-Fortune-Pippa-Durrant-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QM7PK4P/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=fatal+fortune&qid=1555533691&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Fortune-Pippa-Durrant-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QM7PK4P/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=fatal+fortune&qid=1555533721&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback and eBook format by Inkubator Books on 5th May 2019

Book Review: Searching for Gatsby (A Ronnie Lake Mystery #3) by Niki Danforth

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

It has been a while since I have read a first person classically written private detective novel and this was a great one to remind me of my love of this genre!

SEARCHING FOR GATSBY: A Ronnie Lake Murder Mystery by Niki Danforth is the third book in this series. It can be read as a standalone, but I will definitely be going back for more character backstory and new mysteries in the first two books.

This is a new to me P.I. that I should have already been following. I love that Veronica “Ronnie” Lake is a mature character who is starting a second career as a P.I., has grown children, a second degree black belt in Aikido, a bright red mustang convertible and a retired German shepherd war dog. She is still learning the trade of being a P.I. under Will Benson, a former cop turned private eye.

At a dinner party held by Ronnie’s friends Win and Marilyn Watson, she meets an intriguing newcomer to the community, Jamie Gordan. The flirtation is interrupted by a loud gunshot and the body of a thief falling from the roof outside of Win’s library of rare books. The thief has a valuable diamond necklace in his pocket, when he could have much more easily and for more of a reward stolen Win’s rare edition of “The Great Gatsby”.

This starts a mystery that has many well place red herrings and twists between the main plot and two secondary plots. Ronnie has many mysteries pulling her in different directions. She would like to know who killed the thief, but the police, especially Detective Sofia Rossi, are anything but accommodating. She needs to find who took Win’s copy of Gatsby. She is suspicious of Katya Alessandro who owns Alessandro Rare Books in regards to her connection to Win and Jamie. Also, all of the players are connected by four WWII soldiers who happen to have left a treasure map for their descendants to solve.

The cast of characters could walk off the page, they are so realistically portrayed. I love the fact that Ronnie has a dog and when you learn of his backstory it will break your heart. Then throw in a fun and feisty terrier named Peachie and I just could not put this mystery down.

I will definitely be going back to read the first two books in this series. I love Ronnie!