A Hush at Midnight by Marlene M Bell Blog Tour Book Review

 

A HUSH AT MIDNIGHT

by Marlene M. Bell

October 7 - November 1, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

From the award-winning author of the ANNALISSE MYSTERY SERIES.

THE VISIT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Celebrity chef Laura Harris dwells on the horror of finding her mentor’s body in the groundskeeper’s disheveled bed—pillow and bedding half covering her open eyes—purple bruising around her mouth. A grisly snapshot in time revealing the Texas woman’s last moments during her attack. The elderly matriarch from the small town of Stenburg has left the physical world, and Laura is shattered.

She is catapulted headlong into the pursuit of a casual executioner, one bold enough to come and go from the crime scene with ease, dropping bizarre crumb trails designed to mock the deceased. But Laura herself doesn’t go unnoticed. As she digs deeper, she is followed and bombarded by warnings to leave the state.

When the victim’s attorney informs Laura that she’s to inherit the entire Stenburg fortune, the last act of kindness has made Laura the main person of interest in the investigation.

Message by message, Laura is methodically taunted by someone so deranged and driven they’ll do whatever it takes to dislodge Laura from Texas – permanently.

My Review:

This is an entertaining mystery where amateur sleuth Laura must prove her innocence after she discovers the body of her elderly friend. The local police seem inept and her first task is to convince them this was an actual murder. A grouchy and intimidating detective makes her think she must find the murderer or be under a heavy cloud of suspicion herself.

Laura is a likable character. As is often the case with amateur sleuths, she takes too many chances and often get into potentially harmful situations. There are a number of suspects. While the villain was no surprise, the reason took quite a bit of explanation.

The aspect of this novel I liked the best was Bell's writing style. It is almost lyrical and includes great descriptions. I could easily visualize Laura in the bluebell field. This is another novel from Bell I can recommend.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth/Mystery/Cozy Mystery
Published by: Ewephoric Publishing
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 979-8-9863409-6-8
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

 

Author Bio:

Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like. As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter. Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple levels of her creativity.

Marlene’s award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series.

She offers her children's picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! written primarily for younger kids based on true events from the Bell’s East Texas sheep ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of belonging and unconditional love between a little girl and her lamb.

Catch Up With Marlene M. Bell:
www.MarleneMBell.com
Goodreads - @dorsetghal
BookBub - @dorsetgalwrites
Instagram - @marlenemysteries
Twitter/X - @ewephoric
Facebook
Facebook - @marlenembell
Amazon Author Page

 

Tour Participants:

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Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Partners in Crime Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Partners in Crime Book Tours.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)