Trying to keep this one light on the spoilers, I’ll discuss the mechanics of my problem with these novels, but won’t give away the baddie!
I haven’t read many mysteries recently, but of the three I have read ALL had the same problem. While reading each of the three I enjoyed them, the characters and plot were fine, but each left me grumpy at the end. Blood Price and Blood Trail by Tanya Huff are paranormal mysteries and Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs is more standard fare-the things that go bump in the night aren’t werewolves and demons. There are several similarities: both series first novels were published in the early 90s, both authors set their stories in eastern Canada, both protagonists aren’t police officers but have ties with the department, both series have been made in to television shows that I haven’t watched. Huff’s Vicki is no longer on the force due to a disease that is slowly destroying her vision, as a result she becomes a PI and allies herself with a Vampire, though the cases involve the paranormal she uses her police connections to help her solve the crime. Reichs’ Tempe is a divorced former alcoholic middle aged mom who works for law enforcement as a forensic scientist with a specialty in skeletal remains. Both women are competent in their profession, think outside the box, and come to the conclusions that solve the case.
What then do I have to whine about? I like a smart, sassy heroine. I like someone who doesn’t depend on her looks to get ahead and builds strong relationships with her team. I like suspense.
I DO NOT LIKE that in all three of these books the heroine figures out what is up but does not make the arrest/capture at the end. In fact, in two of these three novels the heroine is attacked by the perpetrator and then is rescued just in the nick of time. WTF! These are series, so perhaps in future novels this will not be the case, but I am not fully optimistic. I might not mind so much if the protagonists found a solution, relayed the results to their team and then the team made an arrest, but in these books they reach their conclusions, and then get attacked, leaving the team to figure out what happened on their own just in the nick of time (with some help from a clue the protagonist left behind). Er. Awkward sentence.
Both authors have written solid novels, and I am looking forward to continuing to read their series, but I have reservations.
Start In The Middle 