Two Reviews and Other Stuff

Are you familiar with Web Sleuths?  I first read about these online amateur sleuths who are involved in solving missing persons and cold cases in a Kathy Reichs novel a couple of years ago.  These armchair detectives have solved a number of crimes or found the identity of "Jane or John Does" and have made the news frequently.  (Boston Globe, BBC, Washington Post)  There are evidently a few online groups with this mission.

When NetGalley offered My Little Eye in which a group of internet true crime enthusiasts take on a serial killer in London, I was eager to try another fictional look at online crime solving.  

From book description:  A young woman is found dead in her bedroom surrounded by rose petals - the latest victim of 'The Lover'. Struggling under the weight of an internal investigation, DI Dominic Bell is no closer to discovering the identity of the killer and time is running out.

As the murders escalate, Clementine Starke joins an online true crime group determined to take justice in their own hands - to catch the killer before the police. Hiding a dark secret, she takes greater risks to find new evidence and infiltrate the group.

As Starke and Bell get closer to cracking the case neither of them realise they're being watched. The killer is closer to them than they think, and he has his next victim - Clementine - firmly in his sights.

The first in a projected series by Stephanie Marland (who also writes as Steph Broadribb), My Little Eye introduces the reclusive Clementine Starke and DI Dominic Bell, who will presumably continue to collaborate in future books.  

I liked 
--the premise involving the online sleuths.  
--Clementine's thesis concerning cuts to police departments and the possibility that civilian online groups might help solve crimes more quickly.

Not so much...
--I found some of the online group interactions puzzling, too antagonistic, or so controlling that I wouldn't have been eager to join them.  It's fiction, but I would have preferred more online camaraderie that could be continued in the next book.
--Serial killers have become a little overdone.  In fiction, most serial killers are attractive or charming and intelligent.  In real life, the majority seem to be not so bright-- and brutal-- without the rose petal stuff.  I'd love to know how many mystery/crime novels feature serial killers.  I know it is a lot.

I wonder what the next installment will be like....  I will give it a try, hoping for more of the web sleuthing.

Read in February.  Blog review scheduled for April 3.

NetGalley/Orion Publishing

Mystery/Thriller.  April 5, 2018.  Print length:  352 pages.



Blood Secrets by Gretta Mulrooney is the second book in her Tyrone Swift series.  Ty is asked to investigate a cold case from fifteen years earlier in which a teenager was so severely beaten that he remains little more than a breathing body.

As in the previous book, there is a case that works as a standalone and a continuing story arc involving Ty's personal life.  

As Ty investigates the sad case of Teddy Bartlett, he uncovers a number of curious circumstances and secrets.  The interviews with individuals who knew Teddy fifteen years ago, both family and friends, gradually reveal some unexpected avenues.  More than one dysfunctional family and relationship in this book, including the problems that are developing in Ty's personal life.

Kindle Unlimited.

Mystery/Detective.  2016.  Print length: 247 pages.

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Garden -- I'm suffering from DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).  It's a real thing (!) and most people have experienced it, especially after unusual exercise.  Digging, trimming, planting, then a day or two later...I can hardly bend over to pick up the book I let slip to the floor.  Once I've bent over, coming back up involves a slow, creaking motion.  

Letters--April is National Card and Letter Writing Month and National Poetry Month.  I'm gearing up to send more letters and postcards this month.  

Mushrooms--I'm still making fabric mushrooms.  I think I may need a new crafty project, but these are fun to make while I watch Netflix or Dramafever shows.