Retired librarian Neeti Shah was hoping for a restful life with her chai-loving friends, but when the body of a neighbor, a childhood friend of Neeti’s, turns up dead and the killer’s MO is similar to that of Neeti’s most recent book club read, things start to get out of control.
When Neeti hears a commotion at a neighbor’s house, she finds Rohit’s body sprawled across the bottom of the staircase with Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness nearby. Blackmailing his neighbors, threatening them with lawsuits, and calling them by nasty nicknames were only some of the hateful things that made him so disliked. But were they angry enough to kill?
Neeti is indebted to her old friend, and she’s determined to find his killer. But she can’t do it alone, so she enlists her mystery-loving friends, the Masala Chai Mystery Club, to get to the bottom of the murder.
But Neeti and her club members need to be careful. As more bodies turn up and more suspects start to appear, they’ll need to find the killer before they end up in hot water!
THE MASALA CHAI MYSTERY CLUB by MJ Soni is an engaging debut cozy amateur sleuths murder mystery which features a cast of multi-cultural characters who come together to solve a murder in their HOA community with the added bonus of descriptions of mouth-watering food from around the world. This is a standalone cozy mystery, but I am hoping it will return as a series with the MCMC (Masala Chai Mystery Club) solving many more cases together into the future.
Neeti Shah has loved reading and books her entire life. She was the head librarian at her local library until she was forced into early retirement. While she feels rudderless without her job, and becoming a widow a few years ago, she does have her niece, Myra and nephew, Ved living with her and wonderful neighbors in her multi-cultural HOA.
As she sits on her porch with her best friend, they hear a terrible scream from across the street and rush over to see what is happening. Rohit, a friend from her childhood in India, lies dead at the bottom of his staircase with his wife nearby. Rohit was not well liked in their community and could be quite mean to his neighbors, but while everyone else feels it is an accident, Neeti feels the scene is not quite what it appears.
Neeti and her mystery loving neighbors form the Masala Chai Mystery Club and with the help of a local police officer begin to gather evidence to prove Rohit was murdered. Will they catch the killer before they strike again much closer to home?
I loved Neeti and her love of reading and books, “real” chai, and how she shared it and many flavorful dishes with her neighbors. As is common with a new cozy mystery cast of characters, especially in a community setting, it takes a bit to get names and descriptions untangled, but it is worth it for the rich cultural mixing pot in this neighborhood. This is a well written debut mystery plot full of red herrings and surprises that kept me guessing and changing my mind on the identity of the killer multiple times. I also enjoyed the homage to Agatha Christie’s The Dumb Witness.
This is an enjoyable cozy mystery read with a great new cast of characters and wonderful food and recipes to try and share.
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About the Author
MJ Soni’s heartwarming debut, the Masala Chai Mystery Club, is to be released in July 2026.
It’s a murder mystery about badass diverse women, featuring a saree-wearing amateur sleuth, warm communities, and a dash of humor, and draws upon her love of the culture and cuisine of her diverse Indian, African, and American background.
She is also the author of DEFYING APARTHEID, her part-memoir about being a doctor activist in apartheid South Africa.
Winter, 1987. Detective Jamie Day arrives in London determined to prove himself. After years policing a quiet seaside town, his promotion to the Metropolitan Police feels like the opportunity he has been waiting for.
But the capital is a very different world.
On his first day in plain clothes, Jamie makes a grim discovery: the dismembered body of a young man, left in a dark corner of the city. What should have been a routine first shift quickly becomes the beginning of a major murder investigation.
Then another victim is found.
As winter deepens, young men are being killed late at night across London, their bodies discovered in eerily similar circumstances. The detectives soon realise they may be hunting a serial killer.
Working alongside a tough and experienced team, Jamie must prove he belongs while navigating the pressures of a high-profile investigation. But as the case grows darker, the killer’s pattern begins to emerge. And if they don’t stop him soon, another body will be waiting in the shadows.
THE QUIET KILL (Detective Jamie Day Book #1) by Robert Bryndzna is the beginning of a new murder mystery series set in 1987 London and featuring a newly minted detective from a small English seaside town thrown into a big city murder investigation with an already cohesive group of seasoned detectives. I was excited to dive into this chilling criminal murder investigation set in the 1980s with a new group of characters from one of my favorite authors and I was not disappointed.
Detective Jamie Day is on his way to his new position as a plain clothes detective in London when he is detoured to go to the location of a discovered dismembered body. Immediately thrown into a major murder investigation, Jamie knows he must prove himself, but he is having trouble fitting into the already tight group of murder detectives. DCI Harry Dean takes him under his wing and helps him navigate his new position, colleagues, and the big city.
Dismembered bodies of young gay men continue to be discovered, and the detectives soon realize they have a serial killer in London. Can Jamie help find the killer and prove he belongs in his new job to his colleagues?
This is a fast-paced, intense introduction to a new group of characters from Mr. Bryndza that kept me engrossed in not only the gritty murder mystery, but also the differences in investigation techniques and technologies from the 1980s. It does not seem that long ago to me, but the differences in criminal investigations and technology have been immense in the last 40 to 50 years. While the killer is known in this story, the chase to catch him is what pulls you in. It is an intense, dark story that highlights the fear and ignorance of AIDS and the immergence of a more open gay culture in 1980s London. The investigative plot is realistic and leads to a satisfying conclusion. I am looking forward to seeing how these characters progress in future books in the series.
I highly recommend this suspenseful start to a new murder mystery series!
***
About the Author
Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over five million copies.
His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).
Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller. Fatal Witness, the seventh Erika Foster novel, has just been published.
Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls.
Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.
Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.
Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.
But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .
Because no one is out of the woods yet.
***
Elise’s Thoughts
Murder At the CampfireCookout by Darci Hannah will be the last in this series, kind of, because there will be a spinoff. This series is ending, but the characters readers have come to love will be back in a spinoff, still set in Beacon Harbor.
The author had the characters step out of their comfort zones, away from the bakery. Lindsey left her boyfriend Rory at home but also Welly, her Newfoundland dog. Lindsey, her friends Kennedy and Colleen, Lindsey’s Mom Ellie, and Ellie’s friend Betty all go glamping. Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers and Lindsey was chosen to participate in the campfire cooking contest. The campground is way off the grid. Not long after they arrive, bad things begin to happen. Their cars are vandalized and they are stuck there with no phones or internet. Then one of the campers is found dead and soon everyone realizes it was not an accident.
One of the fellow glampers ends up dead from a sabotaged oven. Lindsey and her friends are determined to put the pieces together so they can escape the horror show unfolding at the glamping site and get home. The women realize they need to find who among them could have done this horrible act. They are also worrying about their own safety since a series of suspicious acts also occurs, adding to the tension.
Readers will get the feeling of a locked room mystery with the claustrophobia atmosphere of the isolated campground, a suspicious death, tires slashed, no phone service, and surrounded by trees and a lake in the woods. Everyone quickly realizes they are stranded in the woods with a killer and before others get hurt or killed, they need to find the murderer, with Lindsey knowing she must ‘smoke out the killer.’
As with the previous books, the ending has a twist, but unlike the others, the tension slowly ratchets up over the course of the story. Since this is a cozy mystery, the tone is lighter than a typical suspense, thriller, or mystery. There are funny moments, but the story also will have readers getting edgy with the feeling of those telling ghost stories around a campfire.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Darci Hannah: I thought it would be fun to take the girls away on their special trip, and travel to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, which is a very beautiful area. I went to school up there. It’s very remote. I’ve been camping up there when I was younger. And it’s just pristine and gorgeous and very isolated. There’s still some dense wilderness up there. So, I thought I wanted to take them camping.
EC: Why glamping?
DH: I used to work at our library, near my town, gosh, years ago. This woman came in, and she had this old historic license plate, but it had never been registered to a car. It was from 1976. And she asked if we could register it. She said, ‘Well, I’m in a glamping club, and I have a glamper, and I want to put it on that.’ What they would do is get these old Airstreams very cheaply or campers, and they would gut them. She was showing me all these pictures of her camper, that she had renovated. And then they would rebuild them by themselves, or maybe with their husband’s help, and just make them almost like she sheds. I thought I would like to write about this someday. And this was probably in 2018.
EC: What is a She Shed?
DH: A she shed is often converted from a garden shed. These spaces serve as cozy areas for relaxation, creativity, or hobbies, providing a sanctuary away from daily responsibilities, specifically for women. It was just a very feminine space. And so that’s what these things are.
EC: How did you incorporate glamping into the story?
DH: I figure that my characters are kind of fancy girls especially, Lindsay’s mother, Ellie. She’s not the type of person who would ever go camping, but glamping would work. And so, I thought it would just kind of be fun to have them go on this isolated trip, to just get away and work on some new ideas for a line of clothing.
EC: Kennedy, the best friend, also went on the trip, but seemed out of place?
DH: She is one of those city gals who is overconfident, a diva, overwhelmed where she is right now. High maintenance, likes to be the center of attention, impatient, obstinate, foolhardy, and brazen. And she’s also a loyal friend. She is just so loyal to Lindsey. That’s why their friendship works, because she’s opposite of Lindsey. And in this story, she can’t deal with their situation.
EC: What about the stalker?
DH: They are the motivation behind everything that’s going on. They have a driving need to connect with the person they target. wanting to be a part of their lives through manipulation and controls. It’s a one-sided attraction. But a stalker doesn’t believe it, because they’re delusional.
EC: How does the setting play a role?
DH: I want the reader to be submersed in this beautiful, almost pristine environment. It’s almost like a closed room murder, with a finite number of people, and then, there could be somebody out there. So that’s always a danger in the woods. You don’t know who’s out there. You don’t know what’s out there. You don’t know what animals are around us who’ve been in that area.
EC: Why didn’t you have Wellington, the dog, go with them on the trip?
DH: If I brought Welly, he would sniff out the murder right away. Dogs know things. They have senses and so I didn’t want to cheat. I had to make it tough for the characters. and uncomfortable so they would push themselves to these limits.
EC: Is this the last in the series?
DH: Yes, because the publisher decided it, probably when I started this book. These books came out in mass market but bookstores do not want to carry mass market. And it’s very heartbreaking, because the reason this series ended was strictly because of the format. They told me if I wrote another one, that the bookstores would not carry it, and if the bookstores aren’t going to carry your book, there would be a loss of sales.
EC: So, what about the next book?
DH: It will be a spinoff of this series: same character, same setting, and they didn’t give me much to go on. They wanted what I’m writing, but they wanted it with just a new hook, so they could remark it and repackage it. And so, finally, one day, I thought the next logical step would be just branching Lindsey into catering. There will be a little bit of a break before the next book. It’s going to be the same type with just a little different spin. I hope it works. It’ll be a trade paperback.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for NATURAL CAUSES (Sam Tate Mystery Series Book #5) by Nikki Stern on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy and good luck!
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Book Description
Nature abhors a vacuum. One killer is filling it with bodies.
Three years after quitting her job as a homicide cop, Sam moves to Denver as a named partner with a boutique private investigation firm. She’s finished with the violence and trauma that have marked both her personal and professional lives. But when a zealous eco-terrorist begins a killing spree with plans to escalate, she finds herself once again hunting a serial killer whose past too closely resembles Sam’s own.
Genre: Police Procedure, Suspense Thriller, Crime Mystery Published by: Ruthenia Press Publication Date: June 23, 2026 Number of Pages: 280 ISBN: 979-8996092208
***
My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
NATURAL CAUSES (Sam Tate Mystery Book #5) by Nikki Stern is another exciting addition to the Sam Tate mystery/crime thriller series of books. Sam is now a private eye and partner in an exclusive firm in Denver, Colorado. This book is easily read as a standalone with Sam starting a new career in a new location with enough background on the few carryover characters from the previous book that you are not confused or feel like you are missing something. Like the other books in this series, it is plot based around a complete serial killer investigation.
P.I. Sam Tate is getting used to her new life with the help of a few close friends. After twenty years in law enforcement, she is looking forward to more low-key investigations. When a family requests an investigation into the disappearance of their husband/father, Sam only begins to investigate when his body is found. Almost immediately after, the son of a prominent businessman is killed. Both have cryptic one-word notes and pin pricks at the base of their necks. When a third is discovered, it becomes a multi-agency investigation and Sam is once again involved in a serial killer investigation.
The notes lead Sam and the others to the possibility of eco-terrorism revolving around conspiracy theories and the dark web. Will Sam and her friends be able to unravel the truth from lies and stop a serial killer with an agenda on the loose in Denver?
The plot in this book, as well as all the books in this series, are fast-paced and full of red herrings and twists that continually surprise. This story is intriguing and kept me reading right up to the suspenseful ending. Sam is trying to move on and yet she gets pulled right back into a serial killer investigation. This book does a good job of pulling in key points of Sam’s life from the previous books. If you haven’t read them this is a good starting point and you will not feel like you are missing anything while I can recommend all the previous books.
I highly recommend this serial killer thriller in the Sam Tate series and look forward to many more to come.
***
Excerpt
“Gorgeous, absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.”
Todd Fischer stood near the edge of a snowy precipice and slapped his chest like a primate surveying his kingdom. He pulled in a lungful of air, his new Filson hiking vest tight against his broad chest. He was winded, more than he cared to admit, and cold. Even at the end of April, the temperatures on this trail lingered in the low thirties. A late-season snowfall added to the discomfort, not to mention the threatening gusts of frigid air.
“You know,” he continued, turning to his companion, “people would pay plenty to live here.”
“I don’t think you can just put up housing in a national park,” she replied.
“Anything can be bought and tamed, Elena. “Even the Rockies.”
“I believe you, Todd. Now, please come down off that ledge? Remember the warnings we received about the missing railings and the danger of microbursts? I do not want my husband to be blown away like a character in The Wizard of Oz.”
Fischer laughed. “I’m not about to be knocked over by a blast of air. I think you should worry more about the kids. Go see what’s happened to them.”
As soon as she’d moved out of sight, he bent over, suddenly dizzy. Crap, getting old was not for sissies. He needed more exercise, more hydration, more time, more of everything.
Elena turned back to the trail, shaking her head. The “kids” were young adults and, as far as she was concerned, pampered twenty-somethings. She was the “wicked” stepmother, just ten years older than the eldest, perpetually a graduate student. Whereas younger brother Paulie treated school as one long excuse to party.
Now she heard them, bickering, as usual.
“Could you stop complaining?” Rowan was saying.
“Not a chance,” Paulie griped. “We are tramping in the mountains, just past dawn, in the cold and the wind. In late April. I left a warm bed and a warm body so I could freeze my backside off with distant dad and wife number three.”
“Maybe the warm body should have helped you dress for a hike in the Rockies.”
“You’re just jealous.”
Rowan appeared first, dressed perfectly for a mountain trek. Paulie, on the other hand, looked like he’d come from a night of clubbing, right down to his overpriced sneakers and his curated day-old beard.
“There you are,” Elena said, forcing a smile. “We were on the ledge for a better view.”
“The one with the ‘danger’ sign?” Paulie asked. “Oh, right. Dad likes to go where he’s not supposed to. I guess you could call it his specialty.”
Elena reminded herself that she could handle two brats for one morning. Before long, she would get herself pregnant and make them both irrelevant.
“Take a look,” she suggested. “It’s quite lovely.”
But they were back to fighting, ripping into each other like territorial animals. Until an unexpected gust of wind interrupted their discourse, strong enough to send a few rocks scuttling down into the valley.
“What was that?” Paulie asked.
“Nature, dummy,” Rowan retorted.
“Wait, where is your father?” Elena demanded.
Paulie cupped his hands and yelled, “Attention, Todd Fischer. We’re officially concerned. Show yourself.”
Rowan climbed to the ledge and swallowed hard. “Maybe he found another way to head down,” she said.
“No,” Elena declared. “Something happened.”
***
Author Bio
Nikki Stern is the author of eight books, including five in the award-winning Sam Tate Mystery Series. She was a co-author of several musical murder mystery plays in the popular Café Noir collection. She’s also written a number of short stories and essays, some of which can be found here. A former families’ advocate following the death of her husband on 9/11, Nikki now serves on the leadership council for Search for Common Ground, a global conflict transformation organization. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SHADOWS OF FRENCHMEN (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy and good luck!
***
Book Description
On a frosty Sunday morning in February, Dr. Jonathan Gray, Coroner of Orleans Parish, faces a gruesome sight. A dead man splayed against the circular steel and cut-glass blocks of the city’s AIDS memorial in Washington Square Park has strange symbols carved into his forehead and chest. A coded note—a cipher—has been placed under one hand. The body mutilation and note are hallmarks of a serial killer dubbed by the news media as the “Mardi Gras Sweeper,” because he strikes during Carnival season and leaves coded manifestos taunting police and giving hints about his next victim.
Hoping to avoid a panic during the city’s most profitable season, Mayor Max Jamerson asks Gray to investigate the murder “on the sly,” without formal assistance from the New Orleans Police Department. Time is of the essence as Gray races to figure out the cipher and track down the Sweeper in order to prevent additional killings—and save Mardi Gras.
Genre: Medico-Legal (Coroner) Thriller Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: May 5, 2026 Number of Pages: 336 ISBN: 979-8898202354 Series:A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery, Book 2
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
SHADOWS OF FRENCHMEN (A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is the second exciting book in the Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery series. While this book is easily read as a standalone, I am glad I read book one, Voices of the Elysian Fields, first, just for more detailed character backstory. There is little time between each book with book one set during the Christmas/New Years holidays and this second book set during Mardi Gras.
There have been some repercussions for Lt. Detective Betsy Sprance since accusing the mayor in her last case, but Coroner Jonathan Gray is determined to get her help when a body is discovered with strange symbols carved into its flesh. It is very similar to bodies left during a killing spree two years previous, also during Mardi Gras. While Jonathan and Betsy believed they had witnessed the killer’s death, it appears he has returned.
As they race to catch a killer, they are hampered by the mayor not wanting to panic the Mardi Gras crowds. As the murders continue, they must solve the cypher of the killer’s manifesto with only the help of their small group of friends to stop the killings once and for all.
This is another New Orleans immersive fast-paced mystery/crime thriller featuring a great cast of characters. All the main characters are fully developed and realistic. Jonathan and his wife have a strong relationship that has been tested, and they came out even stronger. Betsy has worked hard as a Marine and then worked her way up in the NOPD Detective Squad. Ranger, Betsy’s husband’s storyline is still evolving and intriguing. Jonathan and Betsy are both engaging and exciting main protagonists. The plot of this serial killer crime/ mystery was well paced with as many dead ends as surprises and twists. The discovery of the killer completely shocked me, and I like when that happens. This series is addictive.
I highly recommend this thrilling addition to the Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery series!
***
Excerpt
Chapter One
Alpha and Omega
Sunday, February 1, 2015 – 1:47 a.m.
Twenty-plus years with the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office taught Jonathan Gray to expect the unexpected. But Washington Square Park had always been a tranquil haven on the fringe of the French Quarter. So crime-scene tape draping the square’s wrought-iron fence presented the visual equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. Moonlight filtering through stately live oaks cast eerie—almost funereal—shadows, adding to the dissonance.
Fluttering in the nippy midwinter breeze, the neon-yellow ribbon communicated
a mute warning. On this side, normalcy. On the other, insanity. Stepping into the dysfunction never got easier. Regardless, turning back wasn’t an option. As if speaking the incantation aloud would immunize him against the unfolding drama, he repeated his trite pre-crime scene mantra: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” His breath lingered in the frosty air before evaporating.
After checking in with the uniformed officer monitoring access, Jonathan angled toward floodlights illuminating a temporary canopy above the city’s AIDS memorial. More tape—red as opposed to yellow—identified the innermost “Do Not Cross” perimeter. Crime scene technicians in white Tyvek protective suits busied themselves measuring and photographing what must be the reason he’d been summoned. A male corpse sitting upright on the ground—its arms and legs twisted at seemingly impossible angles—leaned against the memorial’s circular cut-glass and steel panels surrounded by a pool of thick, dark-crimson liquid.
A curved, nearly rectangular piece of wood with brass edges—most likely a knife handle—protruded from under the right side of the dead man’s rib cage. A portion of his intestines spilled out of the wound. A second knife—its handle and part of its blade visible—had been thrust downward into the soft tissue between the left collarbone and neck.
Cause of death seemed too obvious to require someone of Jonathan’s seniority. A first-year med student could have made the call. But markings carved into the dead man’s forehead and chest hinted at something more sinister. No wonder Mitch Broussard from NOPD had called him in the middle of the night. The man’s heavy flannel shirt lay open, exposing his chest and a series of
capital letters etched into his skin. The letters—G I D I A I D I V—made no sense, at least not in English. A folded piece of paper with similar letters and other symbols, not quite readable from that distance, lay under the man’s left hand. Lack of blood covering the letters in the chest signaled they had been added postmortem. Jonathan focused on two marks in the man’s forehead. An uppercase “A” and what looked like an upside-down horseshoe—the Greek letter Omega—apparently cut while the victim was still alive.
It couldn’t have been two years already. But there it was. Alpha and Omega. Jonathan bit his lip and cursed under his breath. Then, a silent prayer. Looked like the nightmare was about to begin—again.
One of the CSTs stood and raised her clear face shield. “Hey, Doc. Welcome to Funsville.”
***
Author Bio
Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, a lawyer for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.
Two days before Christmas, Jonathan Gray, M. D., Chief Deputy Coroner for Orleans Parish, receives shocking news. Robby O’Malley—Jonathan’s mentor for nearly forty years—has died under mysterious circumstances. Within hours after Robby’s death, Gray takes the oath of office as Coroner and participates in autopsies of an elderly couple murdered in their Garden District home. After mass on Christmas morning, Archbishop Phillip Fontenot asks Gray to investigate the sexual assault of one of his parishioners, as well as the disappearance of her sister—without involving the police. As Jonathan winds his way through what appear to be separate incidents, he uncovers connections and secrets that members of the city’s power elite would just as soon remain hidden.
VOICES OF THE ELYSIAN FIELDS (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is an exciting, fast paced start to a new mystery/crime thriller series featuring the Chief Coroner of New Orleans. This book pulls you in from the first chapter with realistic characters and a total immersion into life in New Orleans.
Just two days before Christmas, Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Jonathan Grey finds himself at the death scene of the Chief Coroner of New Orleans, his long-term mentor and friend. Just hours later after taking the oath of office to Chief Coroner, he receives a high-profile elderly couple from the Garden District in what appears to be a murder-suicide. As the detectives investigate, the autopsy results call the original assumption into question.
Not only does he have a wealthy, prominent New Orleans family to deal with, but the Archbishop of New Orleans asks for Jonathan’s discrete help after Christmas day mass in the sexual assault of a couple that has asked the church for sanctuary.
With pressure coming from all sides, Jonathan and his friends on the New Orleans detective squad must untangle a web of deceit that brings together the political elite, the rich and powerful, and a multi-country sex trafficking ring. Are all these holiday death cases related or not and can he keep his friends and loved ones safe?
This is a wonderful start to a new series that kept me reading well into the night. The characters are fully developed and realistic even with this being the first book in this series. Jonathan and his wife are a tight couple even with the tragedy in their past and I love that they are well suited to each other, but also singularly strong characters. Jonathan and the detectives followed an intricately plotted investigation with red herrings and twists that continually had me reevaluating who I believed was guilty and whether the two major cases were related or not. The city of New Orleans’ history, geography, and people are woven throughout the story and made me feel like I was right there on the streets with the characters. I am looking forward to reading many more books with these characters in the future.
I highly recommend this amazing first book in the Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery series!
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About the Author
Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.
