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Thursday, March 5, 2015

What The Fly Saw by Frankie Y. Bailey (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"The morning after a blizzard that shut down the city, funeral director Kevin Novak is found dead in the basement of his funeral home. The arrow sticking out of his chest came from his own hunting bow. A loving husband and father and an active member of a local megachurch, Novak had no known enemies. His family and friends say he had been depressed because his best friend died suddenly of a heart attack and Novak blamed himself. But what does his guilt have to do with his death? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. The minister of the megachurch, the psychiatrist who provides counseling to church members, or the folksy Southern medium who irritates both men—one of these people may know why Novak was murdered.  Detective Hannah McCabe and her partner, Mike Baxter, sort through lies and evasions to find the person who killed their “Cock Robin,” But McCabe is distracted by a political controversy involving her family, unanswered  questions from another high-profile case, and her own guilt when a young woman dies after McCabe fails to act."

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons!  It was a great way to find a new mystery series that I will definitely be reading more of.  This was such an interesting mystery thanks to the unique futuristic world that it is set in.  In this book we meet detectives Hannah McCabe and Mike Baxter who are assigned to investigate the murder of the dead funeral director.  They soon begin to realize that this isn't going to be an easily solved case as the victim seems to be well liked by all that knew him.  This scenario instantly had me intrigued.  For one, I loved how the author used a winter storm to add to the creepy feel that came with the victim's murder in his own funeral home.  The storm gave a sense of isolation and really got the book off to a great start for me.  Then add multiple suspects and no clear motive for murder and I was truly hooked.  The added bonus for me was all of the little details that the author gave that brought to life this futuristic world that the author has created.  I really felt like this is one of the more unique mysteries that I have ever read!

My one and only complaint was that I feel like I missed out a bit on some back story thanks to starting on the second book in the series.  That's my own fault as the reader.  The author did a really great job of sharing details to catch the me up but there is an ongoing mystery that started at the first book and it looks like will play a role in the next one as well.  This just ensures that I am definitely going to be reading book one sooner rather than later.  Other readers might want to start at the beginning though which is why I mentioned it.  

Overall, this was such a great read thanks to the world building and the mystery itself.  I loved that I didn't figure out who the killer was until the end.  I really like the way the author ended this book with questions left that made me wishing that I had my hands on the next book.  Aack!  I hate waiting but I am really excited about this series.  At least I have the first book to help lessen the wait.  This is definitely a mystery series to check out.  Easily recommended!!

Bottom Line:  A unique futuristic setting made this mystery a instant win for me!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book as part of Partners in Crime book tour thanks to the publisher.  Thoughts are my own.

 

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this 2nd in series mystery with us. I have it on my TBR stack!

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  2. This sounds so good Sam. I haven't heard of the author or series but I'm going to check it out. I was definitely intrigued by the book cover. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.

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  3. Thank you for the lovely review -- music to this author's ears!

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  4. Sam, thank you for sharing your thought about this book. The cover is wonderful, and the book sounds suspenseful and riveting.

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  5. Lance- You are in for a treat! Really a great read! Thanks for letting me participate in the tour :)

    Darlene- I love the cover as well! I hadn't heard of this series until the tour but I am so glad that I got the chance to read this one. Definitely will be an author that I read more of!

    Frankie- Thanks for stopping by!! I really, really enjoyed this book!

    Suko- It was definitely a suspenseful read! I need more mystery books just like this in my life ;)


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  6. What the Fly saw sounds so mysterious and intriguing! I love a mystery that I can't solve before the murder is known to characters. Reading so much can make a book predictable, but it sounds like this one wasn't :)

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  7. This does sound good, Sam! I like what you wrote about the way the storm impacted the story in the beginning. I know it's a little detail, but such things can really set a tone that stays with you, you know? I will have to add this one to my wish list.

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  8. Sarah- Definitely not a predictable read for me and I know exactly what you mean!! There was just something about this book that really stood out for me and I really enjoyed it :)

    Wendy- Exactly! It was such a small thing but that storm started the creepy feeling that I had for the majority of the book. It really added to my reading experience!

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