(Celina Grace, Echo, Kate Redmen #6, Isaro Publishing Ltd, 2015)

I’ve read other books in the Kate Redmen series (maybe all of them?) as part of my love affair with British mysteries (my most recent novel is an homage to Christie and her two famous sleuths, Miss Marple and M. Poirot). This novel has an important theme: the sexual abuse of children. When it’s done by VIPs, they often get away with it. When the system puts little girls and boys in the hands of VIPs as part of social services, it’s deplorable.

DC Redmen is facing a few personal crises in this tale too. The author creates a nice blend of mystery, police procedural, ad personal angst. The plot drags a wee bit in a few spots, and, while readers of the other books will appreciate the references to those other cases, this book is a stand-alone that can be independently read.

Plot and dialogue are done well, but I would have like a bit more character and settings description. In particular, the villains aren’t well described, but the nature of this murder case might excuse that a bit. You’ll see what I mean. By the way, you won’t find out the reason for the title until the end.

I had a good time with this book. Crime fiction lovers will too, especially those avid readers of British mysteries. Ms. Grace isn’t Ian Rankin, but this book is a tasty treat for your fall nights by the fire. But what’s the big deal with kidney pie? It doesn’t sound as disgusting as haggis (note the British v. Scottish play on words here), but ugh!

***

Sci-fi book sale: More than Human: The Mensa Contagion and Rogue Planet are now on sale at Smashwords from October 1 through October 31. Their prices are reduced to $1.99—that’s one-third off. In the first novel, an ET virus changes the world, but in a good way, and leads to the colonization of Mars. In the second, there’s a wee bit of “Game of Thrones” fantasy mixed into the hard sci-fi as Prince Kaushal leads his Second Tribe in their fight against the First Tribe’s brutal theocracy. Both books are stand-alone, not part of a series. Use the Smashwords coupon numbers when you check out. Note that the second book is also available in paper format at Amazon. Lots of exciting fall entertainment for a reasonable price!

In libris libertas….

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