Redmond does weave an interesting tale, and there is some suspense, but the story is more procedural and courtroom drama than anything else. I do have to say that the writing style and flow kept the courtroom scenes engaging and dramatic. Our main character, Lauren Riley, has quite the reputation as a detective, but she certainly is not without flaws, particularly in her personal life. In many cases, that can make for the most intriguing characters, and I have to say that it does work for this one. Some scene descriptions get a bit tedious, but there is some great dialogue. I especially enjoyed the banter between Lauren and Frank, who are so used to being on opposite sides of a case that they can't let it go. While the primary focus of the story is the murder trial, there is a bit of side story by way of a 28 year old murder case. All in all, the story did hold my interest, but it felt like the cold case was solved a little too quickly, and the suspense aspect surrounding the murder trial was cut short by a "mystery" that was just too easy to figure out. The story does get chilling at the very end and even hints at a promising thriller, so I'll be interested to see if there's a next book addressing that part of the tale.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders starts off with a “last will and testament” written by Heikichi Umezawa in 1936. In this document, he detailed his belief that he is possessed and how he came to the realization that killing six of his daughters and nieces would solve his problems. Using their zodiac signs as a guide, he’d take one body part from each young woman and construct Azoth, the perfect woman.

The story then fast forwards to about 40 years later. Kazumi, a mystery fan, is describing the facts of the Tokyo Zodiac Murders to his friend Kiyoshi, an astrologer and occasional detective. The six young women were, in fact, killed and mutilated in the manner described in Heikichi’s will, but Heikichi couldn’t possibly have done it: he’d been dead for several days prior to the murders. In addition to Heikichi’s murder and the Azoth murders, one of Heikichi’s other stepdaughters was also killed. No one is sure whether that murder was related to the others or not.

After Kiyoshi takes on a client with a distant but potentially embarrassing connection to the case, Kiyoshi and Kazumi end up with a one-week deadline to solve a mystery that no one else has managed to solve in 40 years. Diagrams included throughout the text invite readers to solve the mystery along with them.

If you like trying to solve mysteries before a book’s fictional detective does, you really need to give this a try. It’s an excellent puzzle, and the author even interjects a couple times in order to let readers know when enough information has been included to allow them to solve the mystery. Of course, he interjects late enough that readers have more information than they need, muddying the water a bit, but that’s part of the fun.

The first part, with Heikichi’s will, was particularly strong. Heikichi casually describing why he needed to kill his daughters and nieces was incredibly creepy. I promise, though, that that’s as creepy as the book gets. Although the description of how the murders were actually accomplished was horrifying, the book’s overall tone didn’t have much of a feeling of creepiness, horror, or even urgency to it. Yes, Kiyoshi only had a week to solve the mystery, but the only things at stake, really, were his ego and reputation. Most of the people directly affected by the Tokyo Zodiac Murders were long dead.

There were a few times when I started to lose interest as the book became a little too “two guys talking about the facts of the case,” but for the most part those facts were really interesting. I had all kinds of theories about who might have killed Heikichi and how, how Kazue, Heikichi’s eldest stepdaughter, was involved, and who had killed the other women. None of my theories fit all of the facts of the case, and all my theories were torpedoed after Shimada included one particular document.

Kazumi, who was basically Kiyoshi’s Watson, had some ideas of his own that sounded promising, but I was fairly certain that he’d miss the key detail that would bring everything together. By the time Kiyoshi finally announced that he’d solved the murders, both Kazumi and I were thoroughly lost. It got to the point where I felt like Shimada was practically shoving the finished puzzle under my nose and I still couldn’t solve it. It was frustrating and fun at the same time. If it hadn’t been for work and sleep, I’d probably have read the last part of the book, where everything was finally revealed, all in one go. I can confidently say that I’d never have figured everything out on my own. There were aspects that stretched my suspension of disbelief, but, even so, the solution was really good.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable mystery that kept me guessing until the final revelation. It was very deliberately structured like a puzzle that readers were invited to solve along with Kiyoshi and Kazumi, but, despite the author’s two interjections, it still didn’t feel quite as detached as a couple similar mysteries I can think of. Kiyoshi and Kazumi had some life to them and didn’t just feel like pieces on the author’s gameboard. I particularly enjoyed their conversation about Sherlock Holmes and well-known mystery authors, and Kazumi's enjoyment of various locations in Japan made me wish I could visit them myself.

 

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Catching Heat is the most action packed of all 3 books. While again I missed the back story, the story drew me in and held my interest. Abby may never get the justice she wants, but she will definitely get her "man". Hope the series doesn't end here, this is a great squad.

I stayed up late to finish this one, and it was well worth the loss of sleep. Abby Hart is endearing until the end with her Oreo addicted self. While I hope she gets the full justice for the Tripple Seven case in the next book, I'm okay if she doesn't. I like her story and I would be okay with a drawn out ending.

Abby Hart is a detective who has risen quickly up the ranks of the Long Beach Police Department fueled by her quest to bring her parents killers to justice. While it may appear she has the case figured out, Burning Proof throws some good plot twists to keep you guessing and seeking justice right along with Abby. The story will have you hoping that the good guys show a little selfish justice. I also need her not to jump into a relationship with Luke Murphy. Even though I'm not an Ethan fan.