A Well-Constructed Murder (A Bellbrook Murder Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Reagan Davis

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover: Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781990228414; 9781990228421

Carpe Filum Press

280 Pages

$19.99; $12.99; $3.99 Amazon

April 25, 2022

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Karla Bell is good at three things: running her successful concierge business, being fiercely independent, and detecting lies.

When her late grandmother is falsely implicated in two mysterious deaths, Karla is determined to uncover the truth and clear her family's name.  Even if she has to use every corporate skill she has, accept help from friends and family, and turn herself into a human lie detector.

Can Karla solve both mysteries and reveal the true culprit(s) before the small-town rumour mill grinds her family's reputation into dust?

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Karla Bell left home to make a life for herself, and she has, as the owner of a well-respected concierge company.  But she's returned home for her grandmother's funeral, and discovers that she's now the owner of all the late woman's property.  Also returning is her prodigal mother, who has inherited the money, so Karla needs to make renovations with what she's acquired on her own.  The first thing she plans to do is renovate the two cottages -- Mirabel and Bellflower -- but when she goes to check on the contractor she's hired for the job, she finds him dead.  When there's a second body, no one knows what to make of it.

Now, with the help of her police chief father, her police officer sister, coroner best friend -- and reluctantly, her mother -- Karla must figure out who the murderer is and why these two were murdered...

This is the first book in the Bellbrook series, and the reason I decided to read it is because I have read the others and wanted to go back and see "where it all began."  I can say that I was not disappointed in this book.  It gives the full background of Karla and her family (other books reference it); and her troubled relationship with her estranged mother.  For her part, Karla's mom Lynn is trying to mend things, but Karla is resentful and reluctant -- at least at first.

The mystery itself is written well, with plenty of suspects.  There are a lot of red herrings, and things to throw you in first one direction and then another.  The clues are all there, and as we get closer to the end, we begin to see in which direction they are pointing.  What I love is Karla's ability to tell when people are lying.  An interesting trait indeed.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, it's all rather sad in itself, but as I stated above, a very good book indeed.

https://www.amazon.com/Well-Constructed-Murder-Bellbrook-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09T4KCS3C/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5810659639

More on Reagan Davis's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/reagan-davis/

Lost & Drowned (A Bellbrook Murder Mystery Book 3)

Author:    Reagan Davis

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781990228568. 9781990228551

Carpe Filum Press

202 Pages

$18.99; $12.99; $3.99 Amazon

February 24, 2023

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When a mystery woman turns up dead on Karla's client's yacht, no one knows who she was or how she got there.

When it's discovered that the mystery woman used Karla's name to gain access to the luxury yacht, the mystery deepens and motivates Karla to uncover the truth.

Why doesn't the mystery woman's clothes have any labels?  Who travels with only shirts and shoes?  Where are the rest of her clothes?  Where is her purse?

Who is this woman and what was her top-secret reason for visiting Bellbrook?  Was Karla's politically connected client the intended victim?  Can she sort fact from fiction and figure out whodunit before the killer strikes again?

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Karla Bell owns Just Task Me! a concierge company that deals with wealthy clients.  They hire her to plan events, but more so because of her ability to be discreet.  She also demands that all of her employees have that quality, even her mother Lynn, who works as her personal assistant.

When she's hired by wealthy Damien to plan his daughter Saskia's wedding, she's more than excited by this one: she's hoping that her ancestral estate. Bellflower, will be the destination wedding that Saskia, a powerful social influencer, will choose.  It could mean more business for Karla, and enough money to complete the renovations she's wanting to do.

But then a young steward mentions that Karla's assistant Jennifer has boarded and been put in Karla's cabin, and Karla's confused.  She doesn't even know a Jennifer.  So, when everyone goes to investigate, it turns out that there's been a murder...and it has to be one of the people already onboard the yacht.  But who could it be?  Damien?  Saskia or her beau Ben, an ex-football star?  Damien's assistant Caitlyn?  Or someone else?  What Karla does know is that everyone is lying, because Karla has a unique ability to tell when people are lying.  This, of course, helps her father Dean chief of police, in the investigation.  Her sister Max, another police officer, depends on Karla's ability, too.  

Another big question is where is the rest of the luggage the young woman brought on board?  Where is her purse?  And who is she and why was she there?  Will Karla be able to answer these questions before the wedding?  Or will it just create more problems for her business?...

This is the third book in the series and I absolutely loved it.  I have read the previous one, but am sad to say that I have not read the first (which I am definitely going to remedy).  The author is more than talented, and brings that talent to the written page, which draws us into the story and we actually feel as if we have become part of it.  It comes down to who I'm rooting for to be innocent, and whom I want to be the murderer.  Although I read a lot of mysteries, I found this one delightful.  Yes, I knew who the killer was before Karla was able to figure it out, but the clues were few and far between, to give the reader time to work their 'little grey cells' in the words of that great detective, Hercule Poirot.  It was an intriguing story not only full of lies, but secrets as well, and, of course, all the characters we've come to love.

In the end, when the murderer is revealed, we watch Karla put it all together in her own inimitable way.  It was a pleasure to read this book and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Drowned-Bellbrook-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09XTT5F2N/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5383162340

More on Reagan Davis's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/reagan-davis/