G828 Book Review of A fine year for murder by Lauren Carr

Name of Book: A Fine Year for Murder

Author: Lauren Carr

ISBN: 9781537376905

Publisher: Acorn services

Part of a Series: A Thorny Rose Mystery

Type of book: Mystery, repressed memories, trauma, crime, family, dysfunction, friendship, psychology, West Virginia, twists

Year it was published: 2017

Summary:

After months of marital bliss, Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton are still discovering and adjusting to their life together. Settled in their new home, everything appears to be perfect … except in the middle of the night when, in darkest shadows of her subconscious, a deep secret from Jessica’s past creeps to the surface to make her strike out at Murphy.

When investigative journalist Dallas Walker tells the couple about her latest case, known as the Pine Bridge Massacre, they realize Jessica may have witnessed the murder of a family living near a winery owned by distant relatives she was visiting and suppressed the memory.

Determined to uncover the truth and find justice for the murder victims, Jessica and Murphy return to the scene of the crime with Dallas Walker, a spunky bull-headed Texan. Can this family reunion bring closure for a community touched by tragedy or will this prickly get-together bring an end to the Thorny Rose couple?

Characters:

Main characters include Jessica and Murphy. In Kill and Run, it's mentioned that Jessica tends to fight and choke Murphy when they sleep together, but in this book the author provides a background story as to how and why its happened. While previous book focused heavily on family, namely Murphy's side as well as Jessica's brother, here the focus is more on Jessica's adopted family and on Pine Ridge residents. From what I can see, Murphy and Jessica retain their previous personalities in that Murphy is a health freak and Jessica is a psychologist who analyzes people and comes up to conclusions that help solve the case. Bridget Riva is Jessica's adopted cousin who is extremely manipulative, shallow, organized and is very powerful. Dallas Walker will soon be Jessica's aunt by marriage and is a journalist that enjoys messing with people's perceptions but also loves pointing out details that will get characters in trouble. Ava is a murder victim who seems to have helped in creating the evil Bridget. Simone Riva is another cousin but who happens to be the nice one. There are multiple other characters, but the fun thing is to let the reader discover them for themselves.

Theme:

Things are not what they seem

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Jessica's and Murphy's points of view. Just like the previous book, the time seems to be slowed down which allows the reader to enjoy the scenery so to speak, and get to know the two detectives. I do think that some of the ties aren't tied up neatly, namely the deaths, but other than that I hope that supporting characters will make another appearance in the future. I also appreciated the twists within the story and how the author manages to surprise the reader just when they think they got everything figured out,

Author Information:
(From iRead Book Tours)

Meet the Author:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

Connect with Lauren: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook
Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~ Add on Goodreads

Opinion:

From Kill and Run, I expected the story to also be dealing with military, but that's not it at all; it deals with Jessica's "lovely' (I use that word in a sarcastic sense) adopted family which has a very scheming and manipulative cousin, a cousin that has the hots for her and doesn't understand the word no, and an uncle and aunt who care more for appearances than anything else. Beyond doubt the author is talented in creating mysteries in different places be they military or more casual, thus I look forward to reading more of her work. Just like in Kill and Run, there are a lot of details and background stories as well as memorable characters and taking time to get to know them.

This is for iRead Book Tours

BOOK REVIEW TOUR SCHEDULE:

March 1 - Working Mommy Journal  - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 1 - Within The Pages Of A Book - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 1 - Katherine Scott Jones - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 2 - Working Mommy Journal  - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 2 - My Journey Back - review of  Kill and Run / giveaway
March 2 - Within The Pages Of A Book - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 3 - Books, Dreams, Life - review of Kill and Run
March 3 - The World As I See It - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 3 - Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 3 - Books, Dreams, Life - review of A Fine Year for Murder
March 6 - Christa Reads and Writes - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 7 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 7 - Library of Clean Reads - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 8 -  For Life After - review of Kill and Run
March 9 -  Rockin' Book Reviews -  review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 9 -  T's Stuff - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 9 -  My Journey Back - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 9 - fundinmental - review of A Fine Year for Murder 
March 10 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - review of A Fine Year for Murder
March 13 - Olio by Marilyn - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 15 - For Life After - review of A Fine Year for Murder
March 16 - fuonlyknew - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 16 - Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 17 - Carol's Notebook - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 20 - Nighttime Reading Center - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 20  - Rainy Day Reviews - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 23 - The World As I See It - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 23 - Rainy Day Reviews - review of A Fine Year for Murder/ giveaway
March 24 - Books for Books - review of Kill and Run
March 27 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Kill and Run / guest post
March 28 - Laura's Interests - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
March 29 - Pause for Tales - review of A Fine Year for Murder / author interview
March 30 - Laura's Interests - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
March 31 - Books for Books - review of A Fine Year for Murder
April 3 - Bound 4 Escape -  ​review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
April 4 - JBronder Book Reviews -  review of Kill and Run 
April 5 - Carol's Notebook - ​review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
April 6 - Dab of Darkness - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
April 6 - JBronder Book Reviews -  review of A Fine Year for Murder
April 7 - Mrs Mommy BOOKNERD'S Book Reviews - review of A Fine Year for Murder /                      guest post / giveaway
April 10 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of A Fine Year for Murder
April 10 - Elsie's Audiobook Digest - review of Kill and Run
April 11 - Turning the Pages - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
April 11 - Readers Muse - review of A Fine Year for Murder
April 12 - Turning the Pages - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
April 13 - Dab of Darkness - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
April 14 - Jessica Cassidy - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
April 14 - Elsie's Audiobook Digest - review of A Fine Year for Murder
TBD       - Thoughts on Books - review of Kill and Run / giveaway
TBD       - Thoughts on Books - review of A Fine Year for Murder / giveaway
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)