Author: Stacy Verdick Case
Publisher: Before the Fall Books
About the Book: A Grand Murder is the first book in the Catherine O'Brien mystery series. When a prominent local businessman and friend of the chief of police is murdered on the front steps of his posh Grand Avenue Hill home, Catherine O'Brien a pithy, vertically challenged, St. Paul, Minnesota, homicide detective with a monstrous coffee habit and her partner Louise are given two days to find his killer. They soon discover their victim had a list of people with motives to murder him, including his fashion designer ex-wife, his mistress's husband, and the chief of police. The only evidence they have to go on is a missing cell phone, a stolen book, the victim's letter opener, and an ugly pair of Alpaca wool mittens.
My thoughts: Now, I don't remember a whole lot about Cagney and Lacey, but they were the first ones I thought of when I met Detectives (Catherine) O'Brien and (Louise) Montgomery. Catherine is married to a saint of a man (Gavin) who puts up with her crazy hours and dangerous jobs with understanding and foot rubs, though he does admit it is not what he imagined marriage to be. Louise is single and always seems to be put together, with not a hair out of place, regardless of how much sleep she has or hasn't had.
The book starts out with them being thrown head first into the murder investigation of Nathan Stanley. Even with a list of suspects they don't seem to be able to come up with an immediate motive. While investigating, they do uncover lots of trysts among the executives and their wives of Stanley and Forster -- but now they have to prove that someone was upset enough about them to commit murder.
I liked both Catherine and Louise. They were both good cops and lived and breathed their jobs. Catherine was typically the "bad" cop and has a hard time filtering what comes out of her mouth. Louise was generally unruffled and was able to handle most situations with poise and tact. You are also introduced to "Digs" - the forensics guy who was usually assigned to their cases and who was smitten with Louise and their Chief, who seems gruff but was usually understanding if you were doing your job.
While this who-done-it's ending wasn't a complete shocker, I did enjoy reading it and it moved along at a good pace. I will definitely look for more O'Brien and Montgomery books.
~I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Partners in Crime in exchange for my review.~
About the author: Stacy Verdick Case was born in Willmar, Minnesota. After a brief stint as a military brat, where she lived in Fort Sill Oklahoma and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, her family moved back to Minnesota.
Stacy currently lives in a suburb of St. Paul with her husband and her daughter. Her Catherine O'Brien mystery, A Grand Murder, is available from Before the Fall Books. Her second Catherine O'Brien mystery Murder is a Family Affair, will be released shortly. Stacy is hard at work on her third book in the series.
You can connect with her and find out more about her book at the following locations:
Visit Stacy on the web at www.StacyVerdickCase.com
Twitter @SVerdickCase
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