I received this book in exchange for an honest review through the Early Reviewers community on Librarything. “The Tunnel” is the seventh book in the Sam Casey Mystery collection, but the first of the series that I have read personally. The story follows Sam Casey, a consultant for the police department, who is able to hear the dead speak. She has recently gone through the traumatic and mysterious death of her husband, as well as the miscarriage of her twins, and is now searching for answers. In addition to Sam, the story also follows six year old Nemo, a homeless boy who is incredibly resourceful considering the life he has lived so far. Though their stories are seemingly unrelated, they are tied together in the end after a shocking discovery.
This book is filled with suspenseful twists and turns and heartbreaking circumstances that are sometimes hard to read. If you are into mysteries or crime novels or just overall suspense, “The Tunnel” won’t disappoint. Despite being part of a series, I was able to jump right in without being lost. Tooley did an amazing job with this book, and I can’t wait to go back and start at the beginning of the series. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, definitely recommended! ( )

This series has captured me from the beginning. The Tunnel was a wild ride.


What I liked: The mystery and the surprising protagonist. I never saw it coming which is a major requirement for me and a mystery/thriller. The development of The Tunnel with outstanding writing keep me up until the book was finished. I just had to know. The true caring between the characters was just an added dimension. Ms Tooley keeps the series fresh. The Tunnel is number 7 in the Sam Casey mystery series and I've not been disappointed in any of her novels.


I felt like this novel was more character driven but there is action. Nemo practically steals the novel. I hope he's included in future books.


What I didn't like: I've always liked the mystical involvement in this series. Sam is part Indian and has an affinity for the dead. Her mother, Abby, also has some "intuition". It was mostly missing in The Tunnel. I can understand this somewhat as Sam and Abby were both emotionally involved and couldn't "see" what they needed to get some answers.


This could be read as a stand alone but as I've said before, why would you want to do that when the series is just so darn good.


The Kindle price is reasonable at $4.99 but the paperback is a hefty $15.26


Highly recommend! ( )

This is the second book I have read in the Sam Casey series and I enjoyed this one a lot too. The first one that I read was the 5th book in the series and this is the 7th, after reading these I want to go back and read the others.

There are not many books written about First Nations women, I really enjoyed that this book had a strong main character. ( )

The Tunnel is more of a why done it than a who done it.
The books starts with two seemingly separate threads in play, namely a street dwelling child named Nemo who has to live on his wits since the death of his junkie young mother, and Sam the grieving widow of a police officer who also happens to be a serving detective herself on bereavement leave having also lost unborn twins since the death of her husband.
The book's blurb tells you most of what you need to know of the scenario and the author cleverly converges the two lives of Nemo and Sam and each reveal is brought about sensitively and so that you can work out what's coming, which allows the mystery element to focus on why things have happened rather than who.
The Tunnel is undoubtedly in the police procedural genre and the writing is high quality with solid character development let down only by one character I found to be largely superfluous, unrealistic, and taking up too much space, a sidekick slob going by the nickname of Kojak. I suspect the character of Kojak was intended to provide a light relief outlet but it didn't work for me and the book would be none the worse for his absence.
From what I can ascertain the Native Indian aspect of Sam's family and her innate intuition is a major feature of this book series and it sits well in this particular book complimenting rather than dominating the detective work.
The story rolls along nicely and there is a flurry of adrenaline fuelled activity towards the end with a neat twist or two.
I received The Tunnel as a LibraryThing Giveaway and as the author also kindly sent me another of her books, Nothing Else Matters, I am more than happy to make that my next read, which hopefully reflects my satisfaction with and endorsement of The Tunnel. ( )

Sam Casey Mystery books are like potato chips - once you have one... you're going to want another!

This was a fast paced, smooth flowing, seamless and enjoyable read.

Although this is one of several in the line of Sam Casey Mystery books... I had no problem diving in and understanding the characters and their relationships to one another
.
My two favorite characters?
Nemo - a 6 year old homeless boy who lives for several months in an abandoned building with his mother's dead body
and
Alex - a gray haired, jewelry making trial man, who acts as a protector and confidante to Sam (the main character) and her mother Abby.

I would award this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars! ( )