I'm lucky in that I got to read this book before anyone else. And all I can say is WOW! As much as I loved KILLER IMAGE, DEADLY ASSETS offers so much more. Wendy Tyson delves deeper into the makings of the unlikely heroine and amateur private eye, Allison Campbell. Not only do we get to know Allison more, we really get to know Vaughn, Mia, and the rest of the cast of characters that Wendy creates in order to deliver a rich and moving story. But don't let the in-depth character development fool you, this is a fast-paced thriller that will have you flipping (or clicking for you e-readers) pages anxious to see what happens next. I read it on my computer and just couldn't stop after one (ok 20) chapter. I found myself deeply invested in the problems, families and lives of both victims. I won't spoil anything here, but I was utterly surprised by quite a few developments. And I'm hard to surprise as I'm an avid fan of thrillers/mysteries. Wendy Tyson has done the near impossible: created a sophomore effort that exceeds and already fantastic debut.

This came through my email yesterday and I thought I'd pass it along to my USA friends who might be interested.  Henery Press produces some great cozy mysteries.  Of this batch I can recommend highly Board Stiff - Kendel Lynn, Swan Dive - Kendel Lynn    and The Semester of Our Discontent - Cynthia Kuhn.  

From the email:

 

Allison Campbell, image consultant, and all her friends are back and they have an intriguing mystery on their hands.  Two clients of First Impressions image consulting have disappeared on the same trip with Vaughn, Allison's business manager.  While there doesn't seem to be any way it could be related to Allison and her business, it did happen on their watch and it will cause trouble for Vaughn if they aren't found.  One is a 60 year old Italian wine heiress and the other, an 18 year old rising pop star with seemingly nothing in common.

Allison, Vaughn and Mia, Allison's ex mother-in-law get begin trying to find these two women and the path just gets more murky and dangerous as they go.  There are dark family secrets, mob connections, mysterious private detectives and connections back to Italy.  I was sure I knew what was going on several different times but then was proven wrong. It's not an over-difficult mystery but it does have twists and turns along the way.  I enjoyed the plot and the characters very much.  The relationships between the main group of characters is one of the biggest strengths of this series so far.  I really can feel the bonds between them.  This is one of those books I looked forward to getting back to every time I had to set it down.

My only reason for not giving it the full five stars is that you do have to suspend disbelief a number of times.  As with most stories about amateur sleuths, I never can figure out why people answer their questions.  I wouldn't.  If a random person shows up at my door telling me they are investigating a disappearance, I'm not letting them in my house.  I'm shutting the door and calling the police. It's also hard to image a professional at the level Allison is shown to be could just take off from her business from days at a time to investigate these disappearances, much less be willing to spend all the money she spent on rental cars, hotels and new clothes. All that said, I still loved the story.

Interesting mystery, strong women, good inter-personal dynamics, just suspend your disbelief and enjoy the story.  I've already started on the third one.

This book was provided by Netgalley for review but my reviews always reflect my true feelings.

Ghosts, shut-ins, a charming, mysterious man...this place had the makings of a Gothic novel.

I was a little wary about this book when I started reading it because I wasn't completely sold on the first book in the series. My worries about this book were not necessary because this one was definitely better than the first in the series. While the first book in the series really concentrated on the past, this one really focused on a great investigation into two disappearances.

I've really grown to love Allison Campbell and her group of friends, family, and colleagues. I have enjoyed watching how their relationships have grown from the first book. I especially love where Allison and Jason's relationship has gone. I feel like the characters have grown since the first book and that growth has made this book even more interesting. I enjoyed that all of Allison's friends and family (by family I mean Jason and Mia) were involved in the investigation.

One of the things that I really didn't enjoy in the first book, the point-of-view changes, I really loved in this one. I feel like in this book the pov changes really moved the plot along and helped enhance the story. The characters weren't always investigating the same things so it wasn't interesting getting to see how everything was connected.

I like that it wasn't obvious how the two disappearances were connected (besides the obvious connection with Allison). There were some really great twists thrown in towards the end that I absolutely loved. When I read a mystery book I really love it if I am unable to guess who did it and why, and that is exactly what happened when I read this book.

If you are looking for a really good mystery book in which mysteries are solved not by detectives but by image consultants who become sleuths than this is the book for you. Thanks to NetGalley and Henery Press for the galley.