Mindy Carlson

This debut mystery tells the story of aspiring filmmaker June Masterson - actually named Pear Blossom Jubilee Masterson - who is searching for her final project. She decides to try to solve the mystery of one of the favorite authors of her childhood who disappeared under suspicious circumstances twenty years earlier.

June finds herself heading down dark trails and disturbing a villain who has hidden the truth about the events of Greer Larkin's disappearance. She has a good number of possible suspects from Greer's uber-rich and controlling mother Blanche, to her best friend Rachel, to her agent Bethany Allen, to her former fiancé Jonathan Vanderpoole. All had some reasons why they might have wanted Greer dead. Though most of them are certain that Jonathan had the most reasons.

June is busy trying to get interviews, find police records, track down witnesses from the time while at the same time conducting an affair with her married advisor Paul. Jane sees lots of parallels with her own life in Greer's. June was kept isolated on a commune hidden in the Adirondacks by her very protective parents. Since walking out with all her belongings at age 18, she hasn't communicated with her parents in any way. She equates her mother's own need to keep her overly sheltered with Blanche's determination to do the same with Greer.

When she is given a suitcase of notes, journals and other detritus by Rachel, she combs the material to try to find clues. When Rachel is killed by a hit-and-run driver and June receives threats that echo those in Greer's six best-selling books, the stakes and the dangers increase exponentially.

I liked the story and liked June though I had some questions about her relationship with Paul. I also found the excerpts from Greer's own novels to be pretty sophomoric - not altogether surprising for novels written by a teenager - but could understand why June, who discovered them as a teenager herself, was so intrigued with the author and her stories.

The plot was nicely twisty and some of the revelations were sort of left dangling, but it was an enjoyable mystery.… (plus d'informations)

Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson is a whodunit that goes a bit deeper than many. Well-written with twists and turns aplenty, the ending brings a satisfying conclusion to the mystery as well as some nice character related closure.

While it does make the reader want to keep turning pages it is really more of a slow burn than a rocket ride. I happen to like such books, they often allow for so much more than just a rapid "this happened then this...." I found myself at times remembering something earlier in the book that I thought might be superfluous but helped, later, to understand June or Greer (or both). While tempting to tear through it quickly this is one that would reward a more moderate pace. Not necessarily a slow read but one where you pause sometimes to ponder things, both in the story and about human nature itself.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy mysteries and suspense novels and also enjoy a rather irreverent protagonist. She isn't perfect, we learn that in the very first sentence, but she is still a good person.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (plus d'informations)