4 STARS

This plot keeps you guessing to who is the bad guys and who is innocent. Has some good plot twists and turns that kept you reading to find out the truth. I had never heard of Amniotic band syndrome. It is sad how people are treated because they are different.

Jeremiah Milk is killed before we get to know who he was and what his life was like we learn about little by little. It is hard to like Jeremiah because we only have facts about him. I wish we knew him a little bit better before he was murdered. I just felt pity and anger for his tough life.

Damon Lassard is our hero. He does not need to work so he volunteers around his town. He cares and likes to be involved and figures out problems. He is single but likes Bethany. Damon makes friends but he also gets into trouble with some for his snooping.

I liked the story and would read more from Stephen in the future but I could not really connect with the characters emotionally.
So not connected to my heart just the brain wanting to know what really happened to Jeremiah Milk.

There are plenty of suspects for us to meet and try and figure out what happened.

This is a clean smart story.

I was given this book by its author for purpose of reviewing and being part of its book tour. ( )

I love finding new authors and new cozy mystery series to read and this one is a fun one!

Damon Lassard is a young man with enough money that he doesn't have to have a job so he spends his days doing volunteer work at the library and acting as the president of the citizen's group in his neighborhood. When one of his neighbors comes to him with a complaint about his crepe myrtle dying, Lassard gets involved in the life of Jeremiah Milk. Jeremiah was born with a birth defect that led to some bullying in his younger days. Those days left their effect. When he's found dead at the park where he works as a ranger, Damon wants to know why.

He's worked with his friend and cop Gerry to solve a murder before but this time the higher-ups at the police department tell him in no uncertain terms to stay away from the case. Which, of course, is the last thing he does and with his best friend Rebecca, he pursues leads wherever he can find them.

The book has a cast of characters that are interesting to meet and the plot is well thought out. The twists and turns are unexpected and fun. The subplot about the crepe myrtle is intriguing because I was wondering the whole time why anyone would want to go around killing crepe myrtle! and yes, we are do find out the answer to that.

I feel like the dialogue is a little stiff at times but I believe this author has the ability to mature and deepen with each new book and I'll be reading them!

The author gave me a copy of this book in return for an honest review and that's what I've given. ( )

This book was really interesting! The interesting twists and turns keep the reader's attention. An intelligent, powerful, gritty mystery with brilliant prose and an eye for vivid detail. Stephen Kaminski is a murder mystery extraordinaire.

This novel deserves a five star rating, without a doubt. I really enjoyed this book and the characters were great which is important. I loved this book. Lots of action. Enjoyed the way the author brought it all together. Hard book to put down. Good writing, believable, engrossing. Highly recommend this book. ( )