Official Review: Secrets, Lies and Homicide

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Jan 2015, 22:15

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Secrets, Lies and Homicide" by Patricia Dusenbury.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Secrets, Lies, and Homicide by Patricia Dusenbury is a mystery about the discovery of a murder committed twenty-five years ago and two more murders committed after that discovery. Claire Marshall is a young widow who co-owns a home restoration service in New Orleans. She takes on a client, Tony Burke, a famous race car driver, and they begin to work on plans to restore his childhood home in New Orleans. Tony’s mother is living in an Assisted Living facility and Tony has a difficult, estranged relationship with his mother. Still, he agrees to have Claire visit his mother to find out more about what the original kitchen looked like and other original house details. When Claire and Tony go back to the house to open his deceased father’s sealed art studio behind the house, Tony sees his childhood toy chest and breaks it open, only to find skeletal bones inside. They call the police and Tony goes to the Assisted Living facility, accusing his mother of killing his father years ago, even though everyone had been told that his father died in a car accident during Hurricane Camille. Another murder occurs the next day, and I don’t want to give any spoilers beyond that.

I loved this book. If I wasn’t sick with the flu for the past few days, I would have read it in one day since it was so absorbing. The book is very plot-driven and there is a nice pacing to the storyline. The plot is excellent and goes off in a few directions, while still moving forward and keeping the reader thoroughly absorbed. The characters are all interesting, even the minor ones. I felt like I knew these people based on the author’s characterizations. You do get a sense of the New Orleans setting, but it’s not so overly done that it takes away from the storyline. Some mysteries are too caught up in descriptions of setting, where it drags the pacing of the story; this is not the case here. Everything moves along seamlessly.

I particularly liked that each chapter was relatively short; it kept the story moving along at a quick pace. I couldn’t put this book down and wanted to know what was going to happen next. It’s not one of these mysteries where you can figure out early on in the story who committed the crime. There were a few twists in the plot regarding the motives for the murders, and the reader is taken on a satisfying mystery ride right to the very end.

My criticisms of the book are few and do not affect my high rating. In my opinion, Claire and Tony’s romance occurring about halfway through the story was an unwelcome distraction. She was his contractor and jumping into bed with him after knowing him such a short time made the book veer a bit into chick-lit/romance territory. This book is an excellent mystery novel and I didn’t want the book to be anything less than that. If the characters had remained just friends for most of the book, I think the mystery would have completely taken center stage, although for the most part it did.

There were a few spelling and grammatical errors in the book (the word very instead of every, a period missing, a sentence that didn’t make sense so something was missing). Overall, the errors were minor.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book is just a gem and I highly recommend it. Whether mysteries are your favorite genre or you just want to read a page-turner, this book is a must-read. After finishing the book, I read the “About the Author” page and was happy to discover that this book is the second in a trilogy about Claire Marshall. I now have another book to add to my reading list!

******
Secrets, Lies and Homicide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble | on iTunes

Like bookowlie's review? Post a comment saying so!

AJR1217 · Post by **AJR1217** » 15 Jan 2015, 19:15

Thanks for the review. I love crime novels. I will have to check this one out!

Post by **bookowlie** » 15 Jan 2015, 19:31

Thanks AJR1217. The book is just a very enjoyable read.

-- 26 Jan 2015, 21:28 --

I hope a few of you will read this book. It was one of the better mysteries I've read in a very long time.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 07 Mar 2015, 21:29

I've actually read this review before! Why did I not comment? Must have been my ADD kicking in again!
Anyway, I love the cover of this book (it's so creepy!), as well as your review. I love books with short chapters that keep the pace going quickly.

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Mar 2015, 22:33

ALynnPowers wrote:I've actually read this review before! Why did I not comment? Must have been my ADD kicking in again!
Anyway, I love the cover of this book (it's so creepy!), as well as your review. I love books with short chapters that keep the pace going quickly.

OK, I demand that you go back and comment on every single review you have ever read or even glanced at in the past. Ha ha ha

Just kidding! I sometimes read reviews on my tablet, but posting comments, with all the weird spelling overrides, is not a pleasant experience. Instead, I usually post the comments on my desktop computer at a later point, but I don't always get to all of them.

Thanks for the kind words. Actually, I didn't care for the cover, even though I loved the book. The whole skeleton thing was a bit too large and creepy for me as cover art. I enjoy reading about skeletons, but I don't like seeing them, especially on the cover.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 07 Mar 2015, 23:14

Maybe I am a weirdo. I love skeletons. When I was in university, I had a crush on a skeleton I saw in a textbook of a prehistoric boy. I'm insane like that!
But it makes me wonder about the skeleton's relation to the story. It makes it seem even creepier. Like, the found the skeleton of the dead husband? That was my first thought.

Anyway, New Orleans always produces some amazing horror stories. It's like the signature of the city. (At least, in my own narrow view of N'Awlins)

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Mar 2015, 23:23

ALynnPowers wrote:Maybe I am a weirdo. I love skeletons. When I was in university, I had a crush on a skeleton I saw in a textbook of a prehistoric boy. I'm insane like that!
But it makes me wonder about the skeleton's relation to the story. It makes it seem even creepier. Like, the found the skeleton of the dead husband? That was my first thought.

Anyway, New Orleans always produces some amazing horror stories. It's like the signature of the city. (At least, in my own narrow view of N'Awlins)

I agree, New Orleans does have its share of strange occurrences.

As for the skeleton's tie-in with the story, the plot is meaty and the skeleton is just one facet of the mystery. I guess meaty might not have been the best adjective to use when discussing a skeleton.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 07 Mar 2015, 23:30

bookowlie wrote:
ALynnPowers wrote:Maybe I am a weirdo. I love skeletons. When I was in university, I had a crush on a skeleton I saw in a textbook of a prehistoric boy. I'm insane like that!
But it makes me wonder about the skeleton's relation to the story. It makes it seem even creepier. Like, the found the skeleton of the dead husband? That was my first thought.

Anyway, New Orleans always produces some amazing horror stories. It's like the signature of the city. (At least, in my own narrow view of N'Awlins)
I agree, New Orleans does have its share of strange occurrences.

As for the skeleton's tie-in with the story, the plot is meaty and the skeleton is just one facet of the mystery. I guess meaty might not have been the best adjective to use when discussing a skeleton.

Lol. I thought you were making a pretty clever pun!

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Mar 2015, 23:52

I am not that clever! I will say that the skeleton grossed me out in the story. The fact that the skeletal bones were found in the man's childhood toy chest made me very squeamish. Thankfully, bones that are discovered are usually transported to the Medical Examiner, so the reader can get that mental picture of bones discovered out of his/her head.

TammyO · Post by **TammyO** » 08 Mar 2015, 08:43

Well, call me crazy, but I happen to love this type of mystery. This sounds like one I'd really enjoy. Thanks, for the great review Bookowlie.

Post by **bookowlie** » 08 Mar 2015, 09:14

Thanks Tammy! It has all the ingredients for a good book - good characters, mystery, interesting location (New Orleans), and the main character has an interesting career. I would definitely read more books by this author.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 09 Mar 2015, 05:43

Were there ghosts??

Oh wait... maybe you can't say... spoilers!

Post by **bookowlie** » 09 Mar 2015, 09:07

There may not may be ghosts in the story....no spoilers here! I will say that if there are ghosts, they were not major parts of the storyline.

gali · Post by **gali** » 09 Mar 2015, 09:10

Sounds good. Thank you for the lovely review.

Post by **bookowlie** » 09 Mar 2015, 09:17

Thanks Gali for the kind words. I really enjoyed this book. Aside from the mystery, the main character has an interesting career, owning a company that restores old houses. I think it's nice to see women in leadership positions in a book. Books often have the male character with a glamorous, high-level position.