19 June, 2012

Shades of Murder by Lauren Carr


Mac Faraday, a retired homicide detective, inherits a fortune. As a part of his inheritance, he gets his hands on a painting that has a murder attached to it. Of course he cannot walk away from something so intriguing and gets involved in long cold case. You see, Ilysa Ramsay had gifted the world this piece of masterpiece a decade earlier. The same day she was found dead in her studio and the painting had gone missing. 


On the other hand, Joshua Thorton, a JAG Lawyer and a detective, Cameron Gates set out to solve a murder case that’s widely believed to be the work of a convicted serial killer. They however have reason to believe that in this particular case the victim was attacked and murder by a copycat. 


Soon the separate worlds of Mac, Joshua and Cameron collide as their investigation leads them to one murderer who is willing to kill again to keep things under wraps.
The first thing that stands out in this book is the fact that there are two separate investigations involving two very different detectives – Mac Faraday and Joshua Thorton. It was definitely genius to put these two together as they have as many different shades amongst themselves as the murders in the plot. Then there are the other characters – a whole lot of them actually. Thankfully, the author had provided a list of the ‘Cast’ of the story at the very beginning and that made it much easier to keep track of who is who in the story. Ilysa Ramsay is an interesting character. She seemed as elusive as a character as the motive behind her murder. Then her family is quite as interesting – it seemed like they never really cared about her – putting them all on the top of the suspect list. Then there’s an FBI Agent, a serial killer, a security in charge and forensic technician. And oh let’s not forget Gnarly, Irving and Admiral!


The plot is really intriguing as it brings together two worlds and three murders. With more twists and turns than you can even start to expect, the plot keeps you on the edge and guessing. There’s a lot of mystery, drama, some humor and even a little bit of romance in this novel making it an all-round well balanced novel and an interesting and entertaining read.


I think I will just have to pick up the other books in the Mac Farraday & Joshua Thorton Series and hope that there’s more to come.




About the Author
Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series, Shades of Murder, will be released May 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.
Lauren’s sixth book, Dead on Ice, will be released in Fall 2012. Dead on Ice will introduce a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.
She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

Find the Author

Buy her Books
 


Tour Schedule

June 10 - Meet & Greet at VBT Cafe' Blog
June 12 - Interviewed at MK McClintock's Blog
June 14 - Interviewed & Reviewed at Books, Books, and More Books
June 16 - Reviewed at Self Taught Cook
June 19 - Reviewed at b00k r3vi3ws
June 21 - Character Interview at Faerotic Prose
June 25 - Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.
June 27 - Guest Blogging at AZ Publishing Services
June 29 - Reviewed at Silver's Reviews
July 2    - Interviewed & Reviewed at A Book Lover's Library
July 5    - Interviewed at Reviews & Interviews
July 6    - Guest Blogging at My Life. One Story At A Time.
July 10  - Interviewed at Unnecessary Musings
July 12  - Guest Blogging & Review at Words I Write Crazy
July 16 - Interviewed at Hardcover Feedback
July 18 - Guest Blogging at This Author's Life
July 20 - Guest Blogging & Reviewed at Waiting On Sunday To Drown
July 24 - Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
July 26 - Interviewed by Louise James
July 28 - Reviewed at The Lucky Ladybug
July 30 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words 


*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of The Virtual Book Tour Cafe' and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by The Virtual Book Tour Cafe', no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive one. All opinions expressed here are entirely of my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

6 comments:

  1. Wonderful review. Thank you for hosting Lauren today.

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  2. I like humor in a story. Thanks for the review.

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  3. Oh My God! It looks like Agatha Christie's books, she has a bunch of characters that I had to look at the cast a hundred times to memorize them..

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  4. Loved this book...don't miss reading it. Actually...don't miss any of her books. They are great. She has great mystery plots.

    My review is up for June 29...stop by to see my review if you like.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

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  5. Looks like a book I would like the only thing that turns me off is the cast of characters, i think its a pain to have to switch back and forth, which I have to do whenever there are too many characters

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  6. Because of your review I have just added this book to my 'want to read' list. Thanks

    meikleblog at gmail dot com

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