Book Reviews

Book Blurb

...the price of silence just went up.

14 years ago, five friends were bound together in a pact of silence, burying their involvement in the murder of a classmate hell-bent on exposing their darkest secrets. Now, fighting for justice on the Grimm City PD, Detective Meyer Stanton finds himself thrown back into the past, the secrets he vowed to keep, coming back to haunt him. Working below the law, Meyer, his childhood sweetheart, Evan, and an old flame become the targets of a psychotic serial killer, wearing the face of a long-dead enemy. With the help of his partner and ex-lover, Detective Corin West, can Meyer rip the mask off the dark murderer following his every step - before the five estranged childhood friends all fall prey to his murderous rampage - or is Grimm City about to fall under the bloodshed of its deadliest criminal?

Follow the detective down the rabbit hole as he relives the past, fumbles through the present and tries to survive to see the future. From the writer of Wilde City Press’s ‘Always Have, Always Will’ and the comedy series ‘The Rainbow Connection’, BJ Sheppard is back with a thriller so cold it’s sure to give you chills.

Book Review

"The five were not friends in public, but insulated in their own private world they were brothers. Each held keys to a lock box containing their friends’ darkest secrets, and their brotherhood was forged on the understanding that if one of them fell, the rest weren’t far behind."

Five young high school boys. Each at the social top of their various and different cliques. Each never socializing with one another during the school week. Each holding a secret that could devastate their lives. Each of them terrified to have this secret become public knowledge. One of them possibly a murderer of the man who stood to reveal it all.

Fourteen years have passed since that fateful day, the day that eroded the bonds between Meyer, Evan, Lazlo, Pete, and Preston. Meyer is a detective with no social life and only his job to keep him company. Evan is not out, and his world is spiraling into nothingness. Lazlo was killed recently in a car accident. Pete's life spiraled into drugs after high school and he's never really found his way back. Preston is CEO of a large corporation and he returned to his Christian roots after Jack, considering it a test from God, and now he donates a lot of money against marriage equality and GLBT rights in Texas.

Five men. Each trying not to remember what happened. Trying to forget the friendship they had. Except it looks like someone remembers and he's trying to enact revenge for what happened all those years ago. One man at a time.

Meyer and his partner, Westie, jump into the murder investigation although there's much that Meyer keeps quiet about. At the same time, Meyer and Evan are speaking again, sort of, but Meyer is terrified that whoever this is he's coming for each of them. The author had me on pins and needles with the mystery and suspense woven throughout this book. There's so much I can't reveal for fear of spoiling this seductive thriller for others.

As much as I enjoyed the story there were small, nit-picky things that bugged at my brain as I was reading it. Where was Meyer and Westie's commanding officer throughout? Where did Evan's brother disappear to and how about Evan's responsibility to the company they ran? Strange little things that only my odd brain would worry over as I'm certain no one else would be affected.

An interesting tale of murder and deceit. I was happy that the revealing of the murderer came as a bit of a surprise although there were enough clues I should have figured it out. Darn it! Thank you, BJ, for a gritty, realistic, suspenseful, dark murder mystery.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 304 pages/75000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	27-April-2015
Price	$5.99 ebook, $15.99 paperback
Buy Link	http://amzn.to/2fyBu9A