Frankie Y. Bailey

the author's confidence in the idea that this was going to become a series led to some things which make it less appealing as a stand alone. A mysterious boyfriend of the main character introduced on page 216 only to disappear again immediately, for example. I felt trying to get both lice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz to fit into the narrative was stretching it. Also found the attempt to blend mystery and sci-fi not particularly convincing, simply calling blogging threading and tablets orbs doesn't make for a convincing alternative reality. However, most of these things are probably coming from a combination of inexperience and trying to do too much.… (mehr)

This is the second book in the Detective Hannah McCabe Mystery series. I have not read the first book. It is also the second detective mystery I have read this week. This could easily become a habit. The thing that is really different is that this mystery takes place in the future. For me the beginning of the book starts a little slow and then picks up the pace. Detective McCabe and her partner Mike Baxter must solve the murder of Kevin Novak. He is a funeral director. Was it murder or suicide? Was it a coincidence he was killed in his own funeral home? There are many people in this story who have secrets. We have some very interesting characters like a medium named Luanne. Maybe she knows who murdered Kevin Novak. There are several smaller story lines that are mixed in with this story to make it more interesting. I’m not very good at figuring out mysteries and this one was no different. With all the clues I didn’t figure it out. I enjoy being kept in suspense until the end. I definitely need to check out other books by this author.
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.… (mehr)

We’re in the future – 2020 to be exact. The first line read: “After the storm passed, in the chilly hour before dawn, the last of the “space zombies” found their way back to their nest in the derelict house.” Albany PD vice cops went into the home via battering ram. They found a girl who was barely alive; it looked like an OD. And they found what they were looking for … “an impressive array of drugs and paraphernalia.” Chapter 2 switches to an alternate story and the main story line.

Funeral Director, Kevin Novak, is a distinguished member of the community. However, he seems to feel more connected to the corpses at the funeral home than to his wife. It’s during a blizzard when everything is shut down; he goes back to the funeral home to keep the deceased company. He is found dead in the basement the next morning, shot through the chest with his own bow and arrow. The doors were unlocked indicating perhaps that he knew the killer. Detective Hannah McCabe and her partner Mike Baxter are called in to investigate.

This reminds me of the In Death series as the futuristic components are there but not ‘in your face’. However, that’s where the similarity ends. I assume the ‘space zombies’ was possibly a nickname given to the druggies. I didn’t see any reason to believe they were literal. There are other subplots to the story that I didn’t feel were fully explained in a timely manner. The story also pulled in news about a third-party presidential candidate, Howard Miller, who was seeking to abolish the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Now unless there are two Martin Luther King, Jr’s, with a holiday, there is a mistake in the novel which suggested he died a decade ago. If the novel is set in 2020, this is wholly incorrect. I loved the winter storm as the background; the name of the storm was Jezebel. This is the 2nd in the Detective Hannah McCabe series. The mystery was complete so was easily read as a standalone. The first in the series was The Red Queen Dies. I rated What the Fly Saw at 3 out of 5.… (mehr)