Review: The Praying Mantis Murders
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 19, 2011
This is a short story that is a case from a private detective's casefiles.  It isn't very long, but it is very entertaining and humorous. There are plenty of clues given by the author and a lot of it is predictable, but it's still an interesting and fun story to read.Frank is a pseudo-private detective who has a contact within the police department. The police are anxious to solve this case because four men have been murdered by decapitation after sex, and another victim strangled.  The media has given the name "The Praying Mantis Murders" to this case, and once a case has a name people get more frightened and they want the killer to be found.  Frank hasn't had any cases lately, so this one would help pay the bills.  He works with his contact and it doesn't take too long to solve the case once he puts two and two together.I enjoyed this story that didn't take long to read.  The character of Frank is pretty well described and he fits the part.  He's always late, wants just plain old coffee and none of the fancy stuff and loses his keys.  I wouldn't mind reading other casefiles from Adam Slade's writing, because every once in a while, a short mystery story is just what I like.  Every cup of plain old coffee doesn't call for a 400-page mystery/thriller.