Monday, October 27, 2014

Book Review: Murder in Real Time by Julie Anne Lindsey


SYNOPSIS

Book three of The Patience Price Mysteries

With the chaos of summer tourists and fall birders out of town, counselor Patience Price is looking forward to the quiet life she remembers. She longs for some peace. And an apple fritter. But the calm is cut short when a reality show sets up camp to film a special about ghosts on her little island. Now fans, reporters and crew have flocked to sleepy Chincoteague. Who knew ghost hunters had an entourage?

When two cast members are killed in a room at the local B&B—a room usually occupied by Patience’s FBI agent boyfriend, Sebastian—she finds herself on the case. Sebastian doesn’t want Patience ruffling any feathers but, as always, she can’t help herself.

Patience promises to let Sebastian handle the investigation—he is FBI, after all—but after a drive-by shooting, her wicked curiosity gets the best of her. And with the TV show forging ahead with filming, the list of suspects (and the line of food trucks) only grows. But has the shooter already flown the coop? And how do you find a killer when you don’t know who the target is?


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REVIEW

When I was in junior high school, I came across a book called "Misty of Chincoteague" and l.o.v.e.d. it.  I also read "Stormy, Misty's Foal".  So coming across "Murder in Real Time", also set on Chincoteague Island, was like revisiting a cherished vacation spot.

Granted, there wasn't a lot of murder or mayhem in "Misty", but then, it wasn't a mystery-thriller, and I don't think Patience was there and in counselor mode yet. ;)

Ms. Lindsey has a good hand with descriptive language and dialogue.  The romance felt real, not melodramatic or sappy, as they can sometimes get.  I felt like these were people that could be found in my life, or with whom I could associate.  (Like Patience, I am not the most patient person, and even less so as I get older.)

OK.  I did get a chuckle out of the 'reality tv' crew.  (Reality tv is a late entrant in my own personal list of 'four-letter words of all lengths'.  I'm not a big fan of that brand of entertainment.)  Most of it seems to be more structured than real life could ever hope to be.  But I digress.

I was hooked on the story from the moment Sebastian (Patience's boyfriend) came to her apartment after a rough day at work (FBI), agrees to let her ex (Adrian) stay at his place, and then receives a call saying that two dead bodies have been found in his (Sebastian's) bed!  (And I thought I'd had bad days! Sebastian's day was definitely worse ... but of course, the two dead folks had the worst of it.)

Now, I would be of the opinion that Ms. Lindsey looks too 'wholesome' to have written about such a grizzly occurrence, but I'm trying not to judge books by their covers (after being caught out twice in the last two weeks).  How I wish I had read books 1 and 2 prior to this, but that error will shortly be rectified.

This is a great read for anyone who would like to 'get away from it all', and discovers that to be impossible.  I can't wait to read my next Patience Price Mystery!

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AUTHOR INFORMATION



Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

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Normally, I link the logo to the tour of the book featured on the post, but as this is the last day, I've linked it to the page at Escape With Dollycas that features all the books currently on tour.  Go visit and find some superb reads!

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours (Escape With Dollycas) in exchange for my unbiased review.)

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