If you're new to the Judi Westerholme series, it's one of those featuring a slightly older, marginally wiser, female character who's in too deep and doing the two steps forward, one step dance that quite a few of us might recognise. It's a great series, with a believable, slightly manic central character that's keeping her head above water by sheer willpower and, some would say, the slightly delusional idea that she alone will just have to sort it out.

Full review at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/mad-bad-and-dead-sherryl-clark ( )

Judi Westerholme is working hard to get her life back on track and set up a gastro pub with friend Andre in the rural town of Candlebark. She has been receiving some threatening phone calls but is prepared to ignore them as a prank until her waitress, Kate is murdered. Judi is thrust into a new and dangerous mystery as she attempts to locate Kate’s missing daughter and provide safety for her young ward, Mia.

Mad, Bad and Dead is a rollicking ride that keeps you on your toes from start to finish. It is an easy read and a captivating story that is hard to put down. Clark offers a tantalising visual taste of rural life in Australia, with colourful (and accurate) descriptions of both rural Victoria and Melbourne. Her characters are well-rounded, deeply flawed and immensely likeable (well, most of them).

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mad, Bad and Dead is the third book in the Judi Westerholme series. It is a stand-alone story and can be read without the benefit of having read the first two (although once you start, you’ll want to.) It is a great addition to the growing collection of Australian Rural Noir. I am looking forward to going back to read the first two books in the series. ( )

Mad, Bad and Dead is the third book in the Judi Westerholme thriller series. Our heroine finds herself struggling to co-manage a pub with the staff she is blessed with, a task made a darn sight harder when one of them turns up dead. Kate has been gunned down in her own house and her teenage daughter is now missing.

Throw in a series of anonymous threatening phone calls and you’ve got yourself a thrilling murder mystery manhunt with a fair sprinkling of mysterious suspects, tantalising red herrings and a race against time to find Kate’s daughter, catch a murderer and most importantly stay alive.

The main characters are nicely defined. They’re supported by a great mix of secondary characters all with their own issues and flaws.

A nicely paced plot and a slow release of clues gives the reader the chance to make their own minds up just who the villain of the piece is and if you’re like me you’ll almost certainly change your mind a few times along the way.

Definitely not one you’ll want to miss ( )