Review: Murder mystery - with some different surprises - enjoyable read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2012
This mystery is filled with all the ingredients that make a good mystery - interesting characters (with flaws, humor, and humanity), intriguing murder (is it a murder? or a accident? what is the actual cause of death?), clues that appear little by little and change the flow of the investigation each time, trouble knowing who to trust and who is suspect (ex-wife, partner, pill-head handyman, a judge, other attorneys, etc.).  This was actually a good mystery and I enjoyed it.  There was suspense, intrigue, humor - all at once.Rick Levine is clean after having lost his law license due to his drug and alcohol use.  He is close to getting it back when one of his ex-wives is murdered during a party at the bed and breakfast that he and his current love Laura have opened.  He is the prime suspect and the rest of the story is about his attempts to uncover the truth about what happened and who was responsible and to clear himself.I also liked that there was a very human element to these main characters - they were just plain likeable and that made me want to root for them to solve this mystery and get out from under the gun, so to speak.The best humor comes from the pill-head pool designer who helps at the bed and breakfast and wants to be his PI helper, as well.  Along the way, there are plenty of close calls, unexpected twists and turns, and plenty of clues that keep you guessing.  I must admit that I had figured that the good guy he was relying on was not really a good guy at all mid way through the book, but fortunately that didn't destroy the intrigue of solving the mystery.I received a copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.