Riveting character-driven police procedural set in February in the Colorado Rockies.
Gemma has just returned from maternity leave to her job as a Cedar Valley Colorado police detective. She is conflicted about letting her baby-daddy and live-in boyfriend work from home while watching her daughter. Her first case is the murder of a famous writer working under an assumed name in an exclusive private prep school in town. At the school, there is also a bully and graffiti artist forcing students to perform weird tasks. Are the two connected?
The characters are well-formed and the mysteries are riveting once past the relatively slow beginning. The endless blizzard and ominously oppressive forest sets the stage for the exciting and unexpected conclusion.
The pacing and focus on character and setting reminds me of golden age mysteries of Agatha Christie, which I love. However, it is also a good police procedural detailing the methods of small town policing. There is no miraculous DNA analysis leading to the killer here-just old fashioned interviews. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. 4 stars!
Thanks to the publisher, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for an advanced review copy of A Season to Lie.