Thursday, October 26, 2017

Room for Doubt (A Carol Childs Mystery Book 4)

Author:  Nancy Cole Silverman
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781635112382; 9781635112351
278 Pages
Henery Press Publishing
$30.52; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
July 18, 2017

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When radio reporter Carol Childs is called to a crime scene in the Hollywood Hills at five thirty in the morning, she's convinced it must be a publicity stunt to promote a new movie.  That is, until she sees the body hanging from the center of the Hollywood sign.  The police are quick to rule it a suicide, but something doesn't add up for Carol.  Particularly after a mysterious caller named Mustang Sally confesses to the murder on the air and threatens to kill again.  With the help of an incorrigible PI, her best friend, and a kooky psychic, Carol is drawn into the world of contract killers and women scorned.  As she races to find the real killer, she finds herself faced with a decision that will challenge everything she thought she knew.

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Carol Childs, radio reporter in Hollywood, has been called by her boss Tyler because a body is hanging from the Hollywood sign.  When she arrives, she speaks with a police detective who will only tell her that it was a suicide.  But he hasn't even seen the body up close, and she's not convinced.  Then she's contacted by a private detective named Gerhardt Chasen "Chase" who tells her he thinks it's the work of a serial killer.

But things begin to take a bizarre turn when Carol, on her new Sunday evening program, gets a call from a woman who will only identify herself as Mustang Sally.  She tells Carol that it wasn't a suicide, but the man was murdered by a 'tribunal' and that he's not the first one.

While she's trying to avoid Chase, he's meanwhile talking to Tyler, and convinces him that Carol's show should take a different turn.  And when Sally calls in again with information not given to the public, Carol begins - reluctantly - to take her more seriously.

But who is Sally, and is she telling the truth?  Carol's head is screaming at her to stay away from Chase and what she considers a nutcase, but her instincts are telling her something else.  When other information begins to come to light, Carol realizes that in order to find out the truth and close the lid on this case, she may have to step outside the bounds of the law and her own conscience...

What begins as a strange murder, then perhaps the work of a serial killer, begins to take a darker turn into the world of domestic violence and stalkers.  Anyone who's ever been a victim or known one knows that a stalker finds you, and once that happens, it's not so easy to walk away.  Not everyone has the strength, stamina, financial resources, etc.  Not everyone believes it's not their fault.  But everyone deserves the freedom from it.

Ms. Silverman has a rare quality of being able to begin one book and segue into another one entirely, and keep her audience engrossed in the story.  She draws her subjects not only from fiction, but also from subjects not discussed in every day life and makes you think about possibilities - and probabilities - in the process.  It is quite clever and done beautifully.

We also see a new chapter in Carol's life - she's moving on after a breakup and trying to focus on her professional life (which isn't easy, and you'll figure out why) and deal with her new housekeeper - Misty Dawn, psychic to the stars (retired).  While we don't see a lot of her personal life, the book is so filled with action that we don't miss it too much, either.

When we come to the end of the book it is quite satisfactory; saying any more would be giving too much away.  Although this is the fourth book in the series, following Without a Doubt, it can be read as a stand alone, but I recommend you read all books in order to be fully drawn into Carol's life thus far.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Room-Doubt-Carol-Childs-Mystery/dp/1635112354/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2164975168

More on Nancy Cole Silverman's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/nancy-cole-silverman/

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