Publication Date: September 6, 2024
Page count: 210 pages
Katherine slowed down as she closed the final feet between them. Her target was cornered. Marty attempted a final desperate move, grabbing some scaffolding to haul himself up. The cold metal groaned in protest and shook under his weight. Katherine reacted instinctively as the scaffolding began to shudder. She leapt over the scattered debris, snatched Marty by his belt, and pulled with all her strength. She managed to rip Marty away mere moments before the neglected structure top-pled over, sending a billow of dust and debris into the air.
They both covered their faces and waited for the dust to settle. Marty’s chest heaved as he gaped at the place where he had been standing moments before.
He coughed and stammered. “You saved me.”
“Don’t get sentimental on me, Marty, I need information.” Her eyes blazed with intensity. “Why did you run?”
“Are you kidding? The last thing I want is to tangle with you again. I couldn’t believe it when they told me you’d be on the other side of the case.” Marty tried to scramble to his feet.
“What case? And who's they?” Katherine helped Marty up.
“The prosecutors. The stolen pesticide?”
“Marty, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t heard about stolen pesticide. I’m here to ask for your help,” Katherine gritted her teeth, “as one professional to another.”
“Oh.” Marty looked relieved and straightened his coat. “In that case, sure. Anything you want.”
"Great.
I'm looking for a young woman who has gone missing. Tell me why you were
following Olivia Ames."
Intriguing missing person’s investigation launches this new mystery series.
The Scheme is the debut novel in author Amethyst Drake’s new mystery series, the Carson Crime Files, and kicks off with the puzzling disappearance of a young bio-medical graduate student at Johns Hopkins. The story uses a team approach to solve the case and I was quickly drawn into the story, easily completing it in one sitting.
Katherine Carson is the primary lead of the partners who make up Carson Investigations, and she takes on the case of the missing Olivia Ames at the behest of the girl’s wealthy and distraught father. The police have already looked into the case and decided he is overreacting. At 24 years of age, clearly, Olivia is old enough to have left under her own steam; still her father is convincing about his belief she wouldn’t have left without letting him know where she was going.
Sammi, the youngest employee of Carson Investigations, is tasked with checking out Olivia’s laptop for clues to what she might have been planning but disagrees with snooping into the woman’s affairs. Checking her social media for clues proves fruitless and was a reminder that online practices have really changed since the 2008 setting of this story. In her eagerness to prove she knows better than the investigators, Sammi reveals private information to a potential suspect and then gets upset when Katherine calls her out on it.
The story is chockful of interesting secondary characters whom the investigators encounter while searching for the missing girl. While some are good and helpful, others are pathetic and slimy, and one is more interested in the detective than the case itself. I really felt character development was one of the author’s strengths.
As there are few clues to build on, Katherine and her team must start from scratch. Aspects of the case remind Katherine of trauma from her past, and it was hard to watch her as she struggled to get past her memories. The investigation comes to a resolution and surprisingly flows right into a new mystery with a cliffhanger ending.
I recommend THE SCHEME to mystery readers who like private
detective stories with strong female main characters.
The
author will award a $25 Amazon GC and a signed book to one randomly drawn
winner, a $10 Amazon GC and a signed book to a second randomly drawn winner,
and a signed book to a third randomly drawn winner.
This looks like a thrilling read. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review, the book sounds great
ReplyDelete