Saturday, October 5, 2013

TOWN RED by Jennifer Moss

Publisher:  Black Opal Books
Date published:  August 31, 2012
ISBN:  9781937329563
Mystery/Suspense/Romantic Elements
Paperback
Reviewed by Lynne
Obtained via author
Rating:  5


 

Ryan Doherty, a Chicago homicide detective, has lost his partner and now has one last chance to save his career.  By solving the murder of two ad executives, Scott and Carly Redding.  The Reddings appear to have died by natural causes and both on the same night, which makes the case a puzzler.  Especially since there are any number of people, particularly ex or current employees of the Redding company, Town Red Media, who might have wanted the high power couple dead.

As Ryan and his new partner start digging up clues and suspects, Ryan soon becomes infatuated with a woman at the top of the list.  Catherine Lulling, a former Vice President at Town Red, who possesses psychic abilities he can’t even begin to understand.  As he delves deeper into the mystery of Catherine Lulling and of her involvement with the Reddings, Ryan fears he has finally found the woman of his dreams, only to perhaps lose her in the end.  As the evidence mounts up against her, Ryan soon finds himself growing extremely protective of her and wonders what he will do if it is discovered that Catherine is indeed the real killer.

TOWN RED by Jennifer Moss is an exceptional debut novel.  Filled with mystery and suspense, as well as many unique twists and turns in the plot line, TOWN RED is a great treat for anyone who enjoys mysteries.

Moss is very skilled at dialogue and a wonderful mystery writer.  TOWN RED had me sitting on the edge of my seat, turning pages till the end, just to see whodunit.

Ryan Doherty is a great main character, and the reader can only empathize with him when he discovers that the woman he is interested in ends up being the main murder suspect in the Redding case. 

Catherine is an interesting character as well.  At times she seems guilty of the Redding murders, at other times more like an innocent young girl who just happened to get caught up in something sinister.  It is easy to like her yet mistrust her at the same time.  Also, Moss does an incredible job in her descriptions of Catherine’s home and, in particular, the bedroom.  Some fascinating ideas.
Moss adds so many intriguing characters as suspect, it is a complete joy ride as the reader is introduced to them, one-by-one.  But never in a million years did I see coming the unexpected ending Moss adds to TOWN RED. 

The pacing is just right for TOWN RED.  With so many twists in this story, the reader never gets bored.  I found myself intrigued with the unusual murders and how they could have happened, and for what reason.  There are so many people who could have been involved, that I was never able to figure out the truth.  Which is why the ending surprised me. 

TOWN RED is a great book, and one I would recommend to anyone interested.  It is written with the skill of a seasoned writer, and I cannot emphasize what a rare talent Ms. Moss is.  Since I haven’t read too many mystery novels, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading TOWN RED.  But I was not disappointed.  I really enjoyed this story.

TOWN RED is not to be missed, and I look forward to more of Ms. Moss’s work. 

This is an objective review

 

 

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