A new mystery to solve for Kate Matthews
This is book 2 in the Kate Matthews Mystery series and a good addition to the first installment.
Kate Matthews is still working as a massage therapist and is an elected council member in Santa Barbara. Her daughter Sarah is now married and has a young daughter, so Kate also has a new job as a part-time nanny. Her grandson Ben surprises Kate with a wish she would like to grant him.
When Kate’s sister-in-law Michelle, who has mental health issues and has been homeless more than once, shows up in Santa Barbara only to disappear shortly thereafter, Kate’s curiosity is not the only one piqued. Alicia and Kate make it their mission to find Michelle, even more so when she is linked to a murder. As if that weren’t enough, family problems with Alicia’s ex-husband bring tension and even danger to the family.
Told from Kate’s point of view, we readers see her in action firsthand again as her brain works at full speed to figure out what happened to Michelle and what she has to do with some incidents at a pharmaceutical company. Add to that pesky journalists and threats from Alicia’s ex-husband, and Kate’s family life is put under additional strain. That’s something Kate can’t stand. Once again, there is a lot going on in the Mazer-Matthew family.
The plot is excitingly constructed, with entanglements of animal welfare, pharmaceutical research, politics, greed, and with perpetrators who don’t even stop at murder. I become a little detective myself each time, trying to figure out who the perpetrator(s) were. It took Kate and me quite a while to solve the mystery.
What I also like about this series is that Kate and Alicia are a stable, long-term couple who have weathered some storms together. I like how they are there for each other and always put family first despite their demanding jobs. It’s no wonder they do everything they can to find Michell. Also Ben has really grown on me with his desire, which he pushes through despite his father’s resistance. A down-to-earth family with a private detective disguised as a masseuse, Kate, for whom no mystery is too complicated. 4 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
