4 out of 4 stars
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Brutally raped and abused, an innocent girl drowned herself in depression and ultimately to her suicide in the year 2002. After 12 years this atrocious crime emerged back to light by the upcoming star detective Denise Stewart. Denise, who had to work up from a tough background found herself promoted to a new position after winning her case with Mr. Turner. In her new job post, Denise had to face unexpected challenges: an unknown stalker, a two-time attempted murder and what these killings lead too. She barely knew what came after her. Even if she did, would she take a chance with it?
Under the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries by Brian O'Hare, The 11:05 Murders is Volume 2 of its series followed by The Coven Murders, Book 3 (coming soon). Book 1 of the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries is The Doom Murders. There are short stories under the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries: Murders at Loftus House, Murder at the Roadside Cafe, and Murder at the Woodlands Care Home. The story consists of 57 chapters, a prologue, and a glossary to support the reader’s reading experience. For the reader’s further reference there is a detailed synopsis about the author and his work towards the end of the book. The 11:05 Murders is a work of crime plus murder and mystery with suspense to support the read. The story focuses on a detective style read entwined with a hidden romance. You could find a chronological order in the read used to record the events.
The story takes us under the lights of Northern Ireland. The background image of the story focuses on the Serious Crimes Investigation room, the streets of Ireland and the police protocol.
The prologue was strong and the start very powerful. I could feel the intensity develop and burn within me while I was streaming through each word of the read. The pace of the story was fast. It was very captivating and I never wanted to set it down. The prologue was a cold reading experience. I couldn’t help but notice the abrupt stop of the intensity which gradually reduced when I continued reading from the prologue to the chapter one of the book. That was a disappointment, but it wasn’t in vain.
When I chose this book, the introductory synopsis fascinated me. The content of the story was up to its standard. It was a very intriguing detective read, and it maintained my wave of interest. This book provided the most amazing reading experience out of all the books that I have read for the past five months.
The story was a direct eye opener to the complicated world of a detective. The read exposes us to an in-depth to understand how the officials handle complicated cases (1st and 2nd-degree murder), how they gather evidence, how they link the evidence to the main case and how to carefully evaluate the truth from the false leads. This story is a clear gateway to understand how the mind of a detective works.
Each character had their way of supporting this read, from the most active to the most silent character. The influence of other characters played a main role in the development of the main character. It became clear when Denise moved to her new working station. Due to her past relationships (work and personal) with men, she uses a protective shield when she is around them. It clearly shows her lack of trust and insecurity. We can’t blame her for that, but throughout the development of the story, we can see how a positive work environment influences her thus developing her character.
This is true in the real working context. My ex-manager too had a similar experience as Denise. When she was a senior executive, she corporate well with her male colleagues, but after she became a manager, it became difficult for the men to work with her. When we searched for a reason to this behavior, it took us back to days when she was a little girl. Her parents divorced because her father cheated on her mother. Her mother was very successful in her career. This divorce had a deep impact on the family, and her mother constantly used to say never trust men. This psychological incident affected her till this date. Therefore, the influence of experience does affect the development of a person’s personality.
The author took the liberty to send a powerful message through his silent characters as well. Example: through Lynda, the author shows the importance to speak up at desperate situation and most importantly to send the message that you are not alone. Through Weir's wife, the hidden courage a woman has and how her personality actually saved her.
This story indirectly shows the importance of a positive work environment, how supportive work colleagues can make life easy and how effective team work can truly be rewarding. The author kindly reminds us the importance of being aware about our surroundings, no matter where you are or what you do.
Throughout the complicated moments, there were sweet, and friendly moments as well which played as an additional entertainer. From the start, we could see a beautiful hidden romance that forms like a bud later blooms to a beautiful flower. The read was very descriptive, and I only found one error, but it was nothing major enough to create a hindrance. I found certain sentences too long. It would make much sense if the sentences were smaller that would help to give a better reading experience. Example:
I’m honestly not surprised by the other reviewer's giving this book a 4 star. The story was beautifully presented, and I couldn’t agree more with the rating. I'm sure that ambitious readers who are into detective read will appreciate this book. There weren’t unnecessary scenarios except for the explicit murder and the blood spilling that sensitive people may find it difficult. I can give this book a 4 out of 4 stars it was totally worth reading!“it's true under the Data Protection Act we are not allowed to see personal information held on a paper which is not organized or indexed or structured in anyway but we are entitled to seek access to collections of files or papers or computer organized data organized in a way that make it easy to find information about a particular individual”(George, p. 34)
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The 11.05 Murders
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