An
Unfolding Trap
by Jo A. Hiestand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: British mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Since
his infancy, Michael McLaren has been the target of his paternal grandfather’s
anger. So when the patriarch sends an invitation to heal the rift, McLaren
travels to Scotland, eager to meet and finally end the feud. But the welcome
never happens. If Grandfather hadn’t invited him, who had? And why?
In Edinburgh, a man standing beside McLaren in a bus queue is killed in a hit-and-run accident. After an attack leaves McLaren for dead on a wintry moor, he’s convinced someone from his past is trying to murder him.
As McLaren trails the hit-and-run driver from the medieval ‘underground city’ of Edinburgh to the Boar’s Rock the MacLaren Clan’s ancestral meeting place the assaults intensify, and he’s plunged into a very personal hunt for a World War II treasure. The puzzle is fascinating; he just has to stay alive to solve it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Excerpt:
Ross
leaned forward, closing the distance between them. “You’re sure you didn’t get
angry when you found him this afternoon?”
“Of
course I got angry! Who the hell
wouldn’t? The bloody git killed a man, frightened a dozen others who were
there, kidnapped Miss Skene, held her hostage⎯”
McLaren stopped before saying Lanny had knocked him on the head and left
him for dead in the marshland along the loch, or that he was a threat to Neill
McLaren. He took a deep breath. “But I didn’t kill him. I tied him up so he
wouldn’t escape, then phoned you when I could.”
“An
hour later.” The voice was flat, unimpressed.
“Yes.
An hour later. Maybe ninety minutes. I didn’t write down the time, but I phoned
here, in the village.”
“Why
wait so long to ring us?”
“Pardon?”
The suspicion that things were turning horribly wrong whispered to McLaren.
“Why
didn’t you phone right then? Did you want to put some space between you and the
killing so you could establish an alibi?”
My Review:
I like British mysteries. The atmosphere is usually different from that in American work. For one thing, police procedures seem a little different. They're up to date, but a little different in the way things are done. The language and expressions are just a bit different too.
I liked this book because the author very cleverly stacked clue on top of clue, and the inspector had to use every bit of his skill and imagination to solve the mystery and save several lives. I don't think I cold have solved this mastery the way he did.
I also liked how some issues from the past resolved themselves in the life of the inspector. He was carrying a burden that had really done a number on him, but he ended up finding peace.
The plot moved steadily along and was complex enough to keep my interest. The characters themselves were likable and easy to relate to. I can recommend the book to any mystery lover.
My Review:
I like British mysteries. The atmosphere is usually different from that in American work. For one thing, police procedures seem a little different. They're up to date, but a little different in the way things are done. The language and expressions are just a bit different too.
I liked this book because the author very cleverly stacked clue on top of clue, and the inspector had to use every bit of his skill and imagination to solve the mystery and save several lives. I don't think I cold have solved this mastery the way he did.
I also liked how some issues from the past resolved themselves in the life of the inspector. He was carrying a burden that had really done a number on him, but he ended up finding peace.
The plot moved steadily along and was complex enough to keep my interest. The characters themselves were likable and easy to relate to. I can recommend the book to any mystery lover.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A month-long trip to England during her college years
introduced Jo to the joys of Things British.
Since then, she has been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived
there during her professional folk singing stint. This intimate knowledge of Britain forms the
backbone of both the Taylor & Graham mysteries and the McLaren cold case
mystery series.
Jo’s insistence for accuracy, from police
methods and location layout to the general feel of the area, has driven her
innumerable times to Derbyshire for research.
These explorations and conferences with police friends provide the
detail filling the books.
In
1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and
departmental honors.
Her
cat Tennyson shares her St. Louis home.
LINKS:
Jo A .Hiestand will be
awarding an international giveaway of a Union Jack tea towel and oven mitt,
along with a McLaren-themed gel mousepad to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter. Use the link below to enter.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review and for hosting my book today!
ReplyDeleteI love the McLaren books! Looking forward to getting a copy of this one.
ReplyDeleteSorchia -- so nice to hear from you! And such a nice thing for you to say! Gol, thanks! Glad you're in the running for the raffle prize, too! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGoing to check it out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteLeo, thanks! Hope you like the book!
ReplyDeleteHi, Rita -- thanks. Glad you like the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI'll say good night, now. Thank you, Elaine, for hosting my book today, and thanks to everyone who left a comment -- I appreciate it...and good luck with the raffle!
ReplyDelete