Author Margaret Coel was here Monday for a guest post. Today, I'm reviewing the two books in her Catherine McLeod mystery series. (My apologies, these reviews are two days late.)
title: Blood Memory: A Catherine McLeod Mystery
author: Margaret Coel
published: 2008
genre: crime thriller/suspense
pages: 305
source: sent by publisher for review
first line: The August night was perfect.
rated: 3 out of 5 stars
About:
Blood Memory is the first in the Catherine McLeod mystery books by author Margaret Coel.
Catherine is an investigative reporter for a Denver newspaper called the Journal. On one of her nightly routine walks with her golden retriever Rex, Catherine notices she is being followed. Narrowly escaping a brush with death, Catherine becomes involved in a crime investigation and realizes she is being targeted by a hit man. Being an investigative reporter has gotten her plenty of enemies, but she cannot think of anyone who would want to kill her. The hit man himself sends her an email, but it is basically a threat. From page one, Catherine is caught in a cat and mouse chase.
Catherine's rich ex-husband, Lawrence, insists she stay at his secluded family ranch up in the Colorado mountains until they find the man who is after her. Catherine reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile Bustamante, the detective assigned to her case is on the search for her would be assassin.
Catherine realizes there is a connection between her attempted murder and a story involving the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians.
My thoughts:
Blood Memory is a suspenseful story that had me drawn in. I liked Catherine from the start. She's a strong woman with a mind of her own. The cast of characters is interesting and I was easily taken in by the storyline.
The Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians are involved within the plot and as the story unfolds you get to see how this is all connected to Catherine. This part of the story was a bit boring for me however, especially towards the end. I felt myself not interested in it as much as in the chase between Catherine and her would be assassin.
I liked police detective Nick Bustamante. He's your classic strong hero/good guy trying to save lives. I wanted to see if something would develop between he and Catherine.
I wanted Catherine to kick her ex-husband Lawrence in the 'you know whats'. He's your basic slimy guy who thinks he can get away with anything because he thinks he's entitled.
I also liked that Catherine's Golden Retriever Rex is involved the story, it gave it all a more realistic feel.
Author Margaret Coel wraps the ending up well and gives the story closure.
The Colorado setting was great, author Margaret Coel really makes it a part of the story. I could easily imagine the beautiful mountains and sky as the backdrop to the story.
There were scatterings of gray sagebrush and clusters of old cottonwood tress along the banks of dry creeks. The air smelled of dust and sage and outdoors. The great wall of mountains curved in the distance.
p. 43
Although the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian aspect of the story dragged a bit for me, I found Blood Memory to be a good start to a suspenseful series.
title: The Perfect Suspect: A Catherine McLeod Mystery
author: Margaret Coel
published: 2011
genre: crime thriller/suspense
pages: 293
source: sent by publisher for review
first line: She never meant to kill him.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars
About:
David Mathews is a candidate running for Governor in Colorado. Journalist Catherine McLeod has been covering his campaign for some time. There are rumors of Mathews infidelities and shady business deals, but nothing has been proven. He and his wife seem to be the perfect couple.
One night Mathews is home alone and opens his front door to find his ex mistress Detective Ryan Beckman there. She insists on coming into his home and tries to convince Mathews the two can work things out.
When he asks her to leave, she shoots him dead. As Ryan leaves the crime scene, another one of Mathews mistresses sees her from outside the house. An eye witness.
Journalist Catherine McLeod is sent to the crime scene the next day to get the scoop. Ironically enough, Detective Ryan Beckman is assigned to the case along with her partner, Martinez.
At this point, Mathews wife is the prime suspect, the murder weapon is even found at her home, planted there by none other than Ryan.
Catherine receives an anonymous phone call from the eye witness/mistress, saying that she saw Detective Ryan Beckman flee the crime scene. She won't give her name or identity, being that she thinks she'll be ridiculed and possibly hauled in for questioning, since she is a private escort. Catherine has a gut feeling that this person is telling the truth and does all she can to prove who the real killer is.
My thoughts:
The Perfect Suspect grabbed me in from the first line and didn't let me go until the final page.
I read this book in one sitting and was really swept into the storyline.
I liked to see that Catherine and Nick (Blood Memory) are together and that she is moving on with her life after what happened in book 1.
The storyline in this one was great and the author does a wonderful job at getting the reader inside the minds of these characters. Detective Ryan Beckman is ironically assigned to a murder case for a crime of passion that she herself commited. She is hell bent on framing Mathews wife. She is also being very careful of what information she divulges, since she's been inside Mathews homes and knows her way around. She is very careful while interviewing suspects and friends of Mathews, even coming across one of his interns who saw the two together and knew of the affair.
Rumors swirled about the candidate-financial improprieties, shady business deals, extramarital affairs. She had never suceeded in running down any of them. They were like a dull throbbing in her head, elusive, maddening and persistent.
p.14
Catherine is on the prowl, trying to get as much information as she can, risking her life in the process.
There is plenty of suspense in this one, and I was really curious to see how it would all end. All in all, a great read and I do recommend this one to fans of this genre or for anyone looking to get swept up in a great thriller.
Overall, Blood Memory and The Perfect Suspect, are both suspenseful entertaining reads and I do recommend them. Although they are part of a series, they can be read as stand alone books.
Out of these two book, I enjoyed The Perfect Suspect more.
Special thanks to Kaitlyn over @ the Penguin Group for making this possible.
