September 4, 2020

It’s been a good year for new crime-solvers. This book is the first in the Detective Morgan Brookes series from Helen Phifer, who has a track record of writing feisty, smart female crime-fighters (see The Girls in the Lake for one example). This one is no exception.

We meet Morgan right away, as she is supposed to be on regular patrol. As a call comes in, she’s the first on the scene of death. Wrong place, right time? Because CID is short-handed, so Morgan makes the leap to the investigation squad. And there shortly is a lot more to investigate!

I really liked how the author rolled out the plot. I’ve commented several times on how first books in a series need to walk the fine line of too much backstory to provide a solid basis for going forward while still keeping the current events interesting.

The author succeeds with this, allowing the reader to get to know the other members of the squad through Morgan’s introduction to them. It’s effective and allows the plot to flow.

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I also liked how the investigation progressed. It was interesting, a bit unique, and it kept me guessing. At 70%, I still hadn’t figured it out, and that’s unusual for me…usually I have at least some sort of idea. But this was well-plotted. As if I would tell you about the case….ha ha!

The only thing that stood out to me was that there were a few instances where Morgan acted out of character for a rookie. Her behavior would not be acceptable in most agencies, no matter how small. But I understand why the author chose them for plot points. It still jumped out (but I think only because of my connection to law enforcement).

All in all, it was a successful first outing, and I look forward to seeing how Morgan progresses.

AUTHOR BIO: Helen Phifer lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children. Helen has always loved writing and reading. Her love of horror films and novels is legendary. Helen adores reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read she decided to write her own.