Meet David Randall, a private investigator. He’s at the end of his second marriage — his wife has thrown him out. He’s also ready to quit working for his small-time, dead-end agency and head out on his own. David has suffered tragedy in the death of his daughter in a car accident a few years earlier and is still grieving and suffering from guilt (he thinks he could have saved her). All this and he’s only 30 years of age.
David is sleeping in his car down the street from his second wife’s house when he is awakened by sirens. A few streets over he finds police and an ambulance and what appear to be cryptic notes on paper strewn across the murder victim’s yard. Since he doesn’t know the victim, he leaves the crime scene and heads out. Along the way he meets up with his friend Camden and goes home with him. Camden operates a boarding-house and is apparently psychic, but is probably the sanest person in the house. Other residents include: Kary, a 24 year old student and the estranged daughter of tele-evangelists; Rufus, a soft-hearted big brute of a man and construction worker; and Fred, an elderly eccentric (Southern-speak for little bit crazy but lovable). Along the way we also meet Ellin, Camden’s lady friend, and producer at the Psychic Service Network and Lily, a neighbor that swears she was abducted by aliens.
After quitting his job and picking up his last paycheck, Cam obtains his first client, Melanie Gentry. Melanie is interested in learning whether her deceased great-Grandmother, Laura Gentry, wrote any folk music attributed to John B. Ashford. This is when things get interesting because it is at this point that Camden begins channeling the spirit of John Ashford and he isn’t exactly the nicest of guys. The rumor mill had it that Ashford may have been the cause of Laura’s “accidental” drowning.
There’s quite a bit of murder, mystery and mayhem that ensues. David is now head-over-heals in love with the beautiful Kary and likens himself to the deceased John Ashford and his relationship with the late Laura Gentry. Interspersed throughout all of this intrigue and pseudo-romance (at least in David’s mind), there’s plenty of drama: Ellin wants Camden to appear on one of the Psychic Service network’s shows and he refuses, she then tries to use the spirit of John Ashford as a tie in to a PBS documentary on folk music that is currently being filmed. Camden is having an identity crisis, related more to the fact that he was abandoned as a child and raised in foster homes. He doesn’t know who he is or where he’s from, and the spirit of John Ashford is using this to obtain advantage in over-riding and suppresing Camden’s personality. David also seems to be encountering the ghost of his daughter at odd moments throughout his investigation.
This is a mystery but it doesn’t really follow the traditional mystery path. The incorporation of psychics, alien abductions, child abandonment issues, grief over losing a child, folk music history and ghostly encounters and possession make for a unique reading experience. Look for Stolen Hearts by Jane Tesh to be released in October.
Disclaimer: This book was received for free from the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, through netGalley. I was not paid, required, nor otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
David is sleeping in his car down the street from his second wife’s house when he is awakened by sirens. A few streets over he finds police and an ambulance and what appear to be cryptic notes on paper strewn across the murder victim’s yard. Since he doesn’t know the victim, he leaves the crime scene and heads out. Along the way he meets up with his friend Camden and goes home with him. Camden operates a boarding-house and is apparently psychic, but is probably the sanest person in the house. Other residents include: Kary, a 24 year old student and the estranged daughter of tele-evangelists; Rufus, a soft-hearted big brute of a man and construction worker; and Fred, an elderly eccentric (Southern-speak for little bit crazy but lovable). Along the way we also meet Ellin, Camden’s lady friend, and producer at the Psychic Service Network and Lily, a neighbor that swears she was abducted by aliens.
After quitting his job and picking up his last paycheck, Cam obtains his first client, Melanie Gentry. Melanie is interested in learning whether her deceased great-Grandmother, Laura Gentry, wrote any folk music attributed to John B. Ashford. This is when things get interesting because it is at this point that Camden begins channeling the spirit of John Ashford and he isn’t exactly the nicest of guys. The rumor mill had it that Ashford may have been the cause of Laura’s “accidental” drowning.
There’s quite a bit of murder, mystery and mayhem that ensues. David is now head-over-heals in love with the beautiful Kary and likens himself to the deceased John Ashford and his relationship with the late Laura Gentry. Interspersed throughout all of this intrigue and pseudo-romance (at least in David’s mind), there’s plenty of drama: Ellin wants Camden to appear on one of the Psychic Service network’s shows and he refuses, she then tries to use the spirit of John Ashford as a tie in to a PBS documentary on folk music that is currently being filmed. Camden is having an identity crisis, related more to the fact that he was abandoned as a child and raised in foster homes. He doesn’t know who he is or where he’s from, and the spirit of John Ashford is using this to obtain advantage in over-riding and suppresing Camden’s personality. David also seems to be encountering the ghost of his daughter at odd moments throughout his investigation.
This is a mystery but it doesn’t really follow the traditional mystery path. The incorporation of psychics, alien abductions, child abandonment issues, grief over losing a child, folk music history and ghostly encounters and possession make for a unique reading experience. Look for Stolen Hearts by Jane Tesh to be released in October.
Disclaimer: This book was received for free from the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, through netGalley. I was not paid, required, nor otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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