I love a mystery with humor and Ronald Tierney has certainly given us that. The story is almost mystical at times with the occasional appearance of a black tortoise at the wharf. Not something one would expect in a story featuring a forensic accountant and a suspected fraudulently run organization. Or is it?

Almost ready to wrap up his investigation of a nonprofit organization, things rapidly change with the death of David, the "IT guy." How did he end up in the ocean, and why didn't he try to climb out onto one of the piers? Was he killed? Murdered? This changes everything. Once again, Peter Strand has a possible case of fraud, if he can find it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting, lots of possible suspects, and humorous. Definitely quirky characters, an entertaining quick read.

reviewed from ARC ( )

Overall I enjoyed the plot line and I felt the writing was engaging. However, I wish their were more details and development. I think the story could benefit from being longer. ( )

This (very) short mystery by Ronald Tierney is a quick but amusing read. There are a number of red herrings, and the perpetrator of the crime is not evident until close to the end. The personality of the main character is engaging, in a dry, matter-of-fact way - which makes the ending particularly surprising ... ( )

I received an advance reading copy of The Black Tortoise: A Peter Strand Mystery by Ronald Tierney in exchange for an honest review. Peter Strand is a forensic accountant and private investigator. At the request of a client he looks into an arts center and a murder occurs. This book is part of a series called Rapid Reads, and it is only 131 pages, and truly a quick read. On the negative side, I felt as if I did not get to know the characters well enough to care about any of them. I also did not like the characters; there was no one with whom I identified nor liked. On the positive side, the story itself kept my attention. I am not familiar with some of the terms they used in reference to the accounting, which had me start skimming to the end. If you like mysteries, and fast reads, the book was fine, but not a favorite. ( )

This was a wonderfully fun and short book. It is part of the Rapid Reads and it was. I read it in less than 2 hours myself. This is the 2nd book in the Peter Strand series and to my surprise, I have and read the first one. These are short enough and fast enough to read the Authors name didn't even stick in my head! But it was a very enjoyable book to read.

Here Peter is asked to look into the finances of The Black Tortoise, a non-profit, that seems to be having some kind of difficulty. Most of the problems seem to be coming from the new director. Everyone seems to have their own secrets they are hiding. Then, when he was about to say everything was good, one of the employees is found floating in the ocean. And it looks like murder.

Fun Fast read, good cozy. ( )