Avoidable Contact

February 17, 2014
At the start of Simon’s engaging fourth mystery featuring animal behaviorist Pru Marlowe (after 2013’s Parrots Prove Deadly), Pru and Spot, a service dog she’s training for a wealthy man who is going blind, discover the badly mauled body of a young woman while walking in the woods outside the Berkshire town of Beauville. To all appearances, a large animal, most likely a wild cat, killed the woman, yet no cats like this have been seen in the area in years. Det. Jim Creighton, the man in Pru’s life who has recently become uncomfortably chummy with the attractive therapist sponsoring Spot, is inclined to think the woman was murdered. Pru, whose psychic powers allow her to understand animals’ thoughts, receives conflicting and confusing suggestions from Spot, as well as from her tabby, Wallis. In the end, Pru’s sleuthing instincts guide her to a satisfying resolution of the crime.

June 2, 2014
The 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race provides the backdrop for Kaehler’s entertaining third Kate Reilly mystery (after 2013’s Braking Points). Kate’s beau, Stuart Telerday, should have been on hand, but just as the day is getting started, cops turn up announcing that he was badly injured in a hit-and-run. Kate soon receives a set of mysterious text messages suggesting that the supposed accident was, in fact, attempted murder. Complicating matters emotionally—and perhaps giving Kate a motive for hurting her boyfriend—is the kiss that Stuart admits he shared with another woman the night before. If that isn’t enough to handle, one of Kate’s teammates is killed on the track. Snappy dialogue, a smart and affable heroine (who calls to mind auto racer Danica Patrick), and pacing reminiscent of 24 combine to make this entry as exciting as a spin around the speedway. Agent, Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency.

July 15, 2014
The 24 Hours of Daytona is murder inmore ways than one.Kate Reilly, a professional race cardriver and amateur detective, never expects to slip into that second role whilerunning the 24-hour endurance race as part of the Sandham Swift racing team.Before she can take her turn in the team's No. 28 Corvette, the police informher that her boyfriend, Stuart Telarday, was targeted by a hit-and-run driverwho left him with life-threatening injuries. Kate joins her best friend andmanager, Holly Wilson, in search of information that will identify the mysterydriver. On the track, where seasoned professionals race alongside amateurs, thewrecks pile up. One of them kills Kate's teammate Ian Davenport in a suspiciousaccident. Kate tries to keep her mind on racing, but it's hard for her to focuswhen her newfound race car driving uncle and two cousins seem to be at thecenter of the problem. Brought up by her grandparents, Kate only recently mether father, and except for him and her cousin Lara, she's gotten a chillyreception from her relatives. Meanwhile, she's also received texts from areporter working on a story about wealthy Richard Arena, whose racing team isevidently cleaner than his other business interests. The carnage on the trackis nothing compared to some of the back-stabbing and double-dealing in thepits. Kate has to balance her turns in the car with her investigation, whichsoon leads to a murder that can't be written off as an accident.Kate's third (Braking Points,2013, etc.) will be a joy to racing fans hungry for inside dope. The mysteryitself takes a back seat.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2014

Kate Reilly is excited to participate in the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona, but as she circles the track, a series of tragic events steers her off the course to search for a killer. Kaehler's third series entry (after Braking Points) highlights the thrill of the chase--and the race--at Florida's legendary Daytona International Speedway.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.