About:
"Jenna’s back on the roof again. But she's no longer a troubled child. This time she's hunting a killer.
Jenna Elson has tried to escape her troubled past, but her uncle’s sudden death has brought her home to London.
The police have ruled the death accidental but Jenna’s aunt is screaming murder. Wheelchair-bound and as formidable as ever, Aunt Clair urges Jenna to play their old game of “be my eyes” and search for clues from her childhood refuge far above the city streets.
Though Jenna knows every chimney and every dormer of those Victorian rooftops, the night landscape has changed. Renovations and skylights have made spying on the neighbours easier—even addictive—but navigating her old sanctuary has become treacherous: a killer lurks nearby and nowhere is safe.
When Jenna’s sleuthing comes to a crashing end, leaving her memory damaged, she knows she’s lost something crucial amid her brain’s scrambled images. Dark revelations challenge her trust in those closest to her and danger is stalking her every step. But time is running out and Jenna must pull herself together before death strikes the final blow and takes everything she loves with it."
This was quite a page turner.
Jenna was raised by her Aunt Clair and Uncle Dan (brother and sister) after her mother died an her father ran off. Aunt Clair and Jenna played a game - Jenna would climb and walk the rooftops of their London flat and describe what she saw to her aunt, who is wheelchair bound and cannot get around. Jenna is living in Canada and as a "travel journalist", is up for a big promotion as editor at a travel magazine. She is anxious to get back after her uncle's affairs are in order.
But her aunt is certain Uncle Dan was murdered and wants Jenna to help her find out who killed him. She has her suspicions. There are several characters that are good possibilities. Is it Brian Dunn, a neighbor that Aunt Clair is certain did it? Uncle Dan had said he was going to visit Brian Dunn, the night he was found dead. Or what about Nicholas Hewitt? The actor that lives in another flat? Jenna observes, on her rooftop visits, lots of arguing with Brian, Nicholas and a women named Suzanna. Then there are Aunt Clair's "rent a dudes", as Jenna calls them. Two young men Aunt Clair has hired: Jake for redoing Uncle Dan's garden, and Harry, computer expert. They are always around and now Aunt Clair has let Harry move in! Jenna is suspicious of these two.
Another main character is Mac the dog. Poor Mac. He has a big part in the story. He is frequently tied up in the yard waiting for Jenna to take him out. Mac keeps getting away and running to Brian Dunn's place. Why is that? Can Mac identify the killer?
Well...someone seems to be following Jenna. Then she and Nicholas have a mishap. Was it an accident or not? And in true Midsomer Murders fashion (one of my favorite shows), a couple of other people end up dead.
The story moves at a pretty fast pace once the background is laid out. I found myself trying to read faster than I can as the drama escalated. This is a very suspenseful story.
I was happy to see this is the first book in a trilogy.
As I said, Jane Thornley is a new author to me. Here is a bit about her.
"Jane Thornley has been writing for half-past forever. Though she's been an English teacher, professional librarian, travel host, collaborator in a software company, a knitwear designer, and a superintendent of schools, she considers "author" to be her default position. She now lives nestled by a river in Nova Scotia and travels the world gleaning inspiration. Once upon a time, Jane Thornley explored many roles--librarian, teacher, designer, school administrator, software consultant--but writer has always been her default self. She began writing stories in elementary school and completed 4 novels before graduating public education. But that was just the warm-up. She loves to play her books out in color, adventure, travel, and quirky characters, leaving readers hungry for more.
Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, she continues as an art-to-wear knitwear designer and impassioned traveler while weaving her stories against a colorful international backdrop so vibrant, readers constantly remark on it in reviews."
Her new None of the Above suspense series has just launched with book 1, Downside Up, which readers describe as an addictive new thriller.
She also writes the Crime by Design series: "How do you go from unemployed to illegal in a matter of hours? Begin with a missing brother and lost treasure. Discover that your family is tied up in the black market and trip over a few bodies trying to find them, and then start running for your life ... Phoebe is scrambling across multiple countries, embroiled in INTERPOL's most high-stakes heists, and all in the name of love. Maybe she didn't pick her family, but she's choosing both her friends and her enemies. Too bad they're one and the same ...
Love, adventure, suspense, and wit--Crime by Design takes you on a thrilling ride through the art and antiquities world served up with a side of knitting and textiles. If you love the humour of Janet Evanovich , the spirit of Indiana Jones, and prefer your books to be fast-paced page-turners, read the Crime by Design series.
Book 1 begins in Nova Scotia and Bermuda, Book 2 races across Turkey, and Book 3 features the Amalfi Coast, each location adding to the gang of vibrant characters and settings so vivid, you'll thing you're there. Fasten your seatbelts. This series is a fun, suspense-filled thrill-ride.
Visit her home page: http://www.janethornley.com/blog/index.php/crime-by-design/#
I received a free copy and voluntarily am providing this review.
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