Share This Review
Synopsis:
Deadly Secrets by Jude Pittman
Kelly McWinter was leading his life quietly in the community of Indian Creek, Texas after losing his wife in a freak accidental fire. He leaves his job as a cop and becomes a security guard , who spend his days guarding the flea market and at spending time with his friends in Cam’s bar. Everything was running smoothly till one night while in his rounds, he came across the body of Anna, one of his friends in the community. She was strangled with a silk scarf.
This started a series of suspicion and accusations. It could have been any one from the community or someone from Anna’s shrouded past. Anna was a loner but she had enough wealth to help some of the people from the community. Where did the money come from and was it the cause of her death? All the members of the community, who knew her, were under suspicion.
During his investigation, Kelly meets Kristin. She reminds him of his dead wife. After a long time Kelly desires another women, till his nightmares begin again. Will he again lose in love or will he fight through the series of events which forces him to join hands with his ex partner, Gus to solve this gruesome murder?
Deadly Betrayal by Jude Pittman
This was shorter than the first book ‘Deadly secrets’. Kelly McWinter has now become a private investigator but he continues to live amongst the community of the Indian Creek. The characters from the first part of the sequel have revisited but at a lower key except for Cam and Stella. Here Jude Pitman has brought a new twist to the relationship between Stella and Kelly. One might think that there was something going on between them but it is cut off at the bud and in came a new character Gillian. Don’t feel sorry for Stella for she finds her own love and what does develop between Kelly and Stella is a beautiful friendship.
This time Stella’s niece Mikki are in a bit of a jam. She is a singer who is in love with a married man Alex Wyatt. He is a Cassanova who shows is callousness by asking Mikki to abort his child when she tells him about her pregnancy. The next news is of Alex being sent to his heavenly abode and Mikki being pinned for it. What follows is a string of new characters and a game of whodunnit. Let me tell you here outrightly that you will never be able to guess the name of the murderer. Jude Pittman again pulls it off with the ending, while keeping her readers guessing to a point of exhaustion. [I hereby declare that I will never think of a career as a private investigator. I will fail miserably]
Deadly Consequences- Jude Pittman
The third of the trilogy got me perked up again. Kelly McWinter was at his mettle again..[just the way I like my PI to be! ]
While being off to Bubba’s holiday cabin, Kelly’s girlfriend Gillian hears the news that one of the stable boys is murdered. They rush back to investigate with the help of Gus, Kelly’s former partner. This starts a series of murder, drug trafficking and the worst of the worst crimes- child pornography. Many people are hurt in this process and Gillian needs to solve the case as soon as possible, since her stable’s reputation is on the line. This part mainly focuses on Kelly and Gillian. I found this part to be most interesting as well has fast paced. Like the first part, the dialogues of this part too threw good punches and the visual creativity of the dialogue is really good.
My Reaction:
I started this book with a bit of trepidation. The reason being it was written from a man’s POV and I was ready for lots of cuss words and meaningless sex scenes. But then I got sucked in.The pace of the book was fast, action oriented and Jude Pittman kept the reader guessing till the very end. There are many characters in these stories. The reader should have felt a bit confused but each character was given a distinct voice which kept the story alive till the end.
While I wanted to take a peak at the last page of the first and the third novellas, the second novella was a bit disappointing. Of course the guessing game was good and three romances were sweet but as a reader, I wanted more. [That is a compliment]. What I really felt confused about in this part are the dialogue delivery of the characters. To quote a few:
1. “Are you decent?” Stella peeked around the door. Kelly grinned. “That’s a loaded question.”
2. “Did they find any prints on the tire iron?” “Yes and they all belonged to Mikki.”
3. “Surprise me,” Kelly called back as he headed to the shower. A man could get used to this kind of setup. Ten short minutes later, he walked into the kitchen. “It sure smells good in here,” Kelly said. “Where’s your dog?” (Whose dog? One belonged to Kelly and the other one belonged to Gus. So why did he ask this to Gillian?)
Rating:
Deadly Secrets: 3/4 stars.
Reasoning: The story tended to be a bit too lengthy at some parts. Some of the travel sequence could have been shortened but for those who love detailed descriptions it would not be a problem. But on the whole this is one mystery, when solved, you would wish that the killer should not…… (oops zipping my big mouth)
Deadly Betrayal: 2/4 stars
Reasoning: First and foremost the dialogue delivery. I need sometimes to take two steps back to understand who was saying what. It was more of a short story rather than a full fledged mystery novel.
Deadly Consequences: 4/4 stars
Reasoning: Loved it.
***
Buy "Books We Love Triple Threat - Jude Pittman" on Amazon
Buy "Books We Love Triple Threat - Jude Pittman" on Barnes and Noble
