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Okay, this is my second attempt to create my review post for Deception Bay by Chris Patchell. I had the review written since November, but was waiting for it to release this month to get all the details. Then, it got buried in my draft folder and now…Any of you who have switched to the new WordPress **** know how frustrating this can be. I pushed the schedule button and voila…it disappeared…gone forever.
But not so Deception Bay. I love the gorgeous cover and it holds all the elements to hook me. I was also traveling when I read the book, so my notes from reading it back in November are scarce and my memory…well, let’s not discuss that. LOL
MY REVIEW
I love a prologue, especially one like Deception Bay’s that immediately hooked me and never let me go.
Austin is heading home to Whidbury Island to see about his mom, who has been in an accident.
He has a panic attack and meets Ellie.
The cat…named CAT after Inspector Clouseau’s valet because he’s sneaky and attacks when you least expect it. Makes for some hilarious scenes and I do like the extra fun with the critter.
If Austin wasn’t a writer, I might mistake him for Jim Rockford, from the Rockford Files. He’s constantly getting beat on. Love the character.
I figured out some of the mystery from the prologue, but I’m still working on the who. Why would anyone want to hurt his mother? Sure, she had issues, but who wouldn’t when their Golden Boy was taken from them before his time.
Austin is forced to face his past and the inner demons that he can’t seem to get rid of. He grows, changes, forgives and solves a couple of mysteries along the way.
Three deaths, past and present.
A wonderful tale of secrets, murder and mystery, with laughs along the way. I do love some chuckles with my murder
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Deception Bay by Chris Patchell.
GOODREADS BLURB
She’s armed. He’s dangerous. Together, can they stop a killer from tearing a small island community apart?
When wise-cracking cozy mystery author, Austin Martell, left his hometown on Whidbey Island for the bright lights of New York, he vowed he would never go back. But some promises are impossible to keep, and when Austin discovers that his mother has suffered a serious accident, he has no choice but to return. Austin soon learns that her accident may be no accident at all, and secrets that were laid to rest after his brother’s tragic death off the coast of Deception Bay, have now begun to surface.
Austin finds himself in the center of a real-life murder mystery, when Police Chief Ellie Sharpe uncovers a curious connection between the author and the death of a local businessman. Born and raised on Whidbey and trained as a New York cop, Ellie is smart, and tough, and determined to solve the mystery behind the killing before more people die. Sparks fly as the two pair up to figure out who is responsible for the murder. The closer they come to discovering truth, the more desperate someone is to keep the sins of the past from coming to light.
Someone close to Austin harbors a deadly truth. Can Ellie unmask a killer before Austin becomes one more secret buried beneath the waves of Deception Bay?
ABOUT CHRIS PATCHELL
Chris Patchell is the bestselling author of In the Dark and the Indie Reader Discovery Award winning novel Deadly Lies. Having recently left her long-time career in tech to pursue her passion for writing full-time, Chris pens gritty suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her family and two neurotic dogs.
