Review by K. G. Whitehurst
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.
Winter or summer, it’s always grim in Carthage, Ohio. Or so it appears when Marian Warner returns to the town five months after her first appearance in No Mistaking Death. (A reader does not need to read the first novel to enjoy this second one, but it does help introduce all the regular characters.) Marian stays at The Briars, a bed-and-breakfast, and once again has to sift through small town secrets, as deadly and desperate as any in the big city, to find a killer.Image Source Level Best |
Once back in Carthage, Marian begins to piece together the details of Beth Prescott’s rather average life. Nobody disliked the pretty, modest Beth, even if nobody particularly thought her bright. She worked two part-time jobs, one as a lab courier, the other as a home health assistant for Jack Girard’s disabled father. Marian doesn’t want to think or talk about Jack, so she concentrates on Beth’s route as a lab courier and the people with whom she routinely dealt. That leads Marian to a local obstetrician being sued for medical malpractice. Both lawyers are out-of-towners, and the defense attorney who is also staying at The Briars, suggests Marian attend court before talking to her client, the obstetrician. In court, Marian gets a rude introduction to the brutal realities of medical malpractice litigation with its battling attorneys, their expert witnesses, and sky-high insurance premiums. When Marian realizes her old friend and sometime lover, the editor of the local paper, slants his editorials toward the sensational for sales, she questions his journalism, her understanding, and the true nature of the case. The stakes become personal after Beth’s body is discovered and somebody decides Marian is coming too close to the truth.
If you’re looking for Elvis Cole or Harry Bosch, then Marian Warner is not your girl. She usually works for her half-sister Joan. Marian runs verifications on the necessity for historical preservation or authentications of Chinese porcelains. Necessary, bureaucratic, unexciting work. Yes, she has a PI license, and yes, she carries a weapon, although it’s pretty clear she regrets that decision. This is a cozy PI novel that puts down the detective shoe leather and delivers the excitement and frisson of danger without the sex, violence, or swearing to be found in more hard-boiled novels. Plenty of quirky characters pop up––like Eddie Estremara of Gringos, a local watering hole; Jonelle the Grange lady; or Lila, who runs the local tanning salon and was Beth’s best friend.
Author Shelley Costa, whose works have been nominated for the Edgar and the Agatha awards, says on her website: “Anything I want to read or write comes down to three words: Good Person Struggling.” And that’s what you have here. Good people struggle with providing medical care in an underserved community, with the high costs of caring for disabled children and elderly adults, with dreams killed by working two dead-end jobs, and with the painful realities of love versus the need to find the truth. Yes, like her clients, Marian is a good person struggling.
To enter to win a copy of The Damages, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "damages,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 19, 2024. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
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Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.K.G. Whitehurst holds a PhD in British history from the University of Virginia. K.G. has blogged about historical fiction at DIYMFA.com; she writes both historical and science fiction mysteries. She lives with her husband, three cats, and over 100 houseplants in Frederick, Maryland, USA.
New author for me! tWarner419@aol.com
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