One Deadly Sister by Rod Hoisington, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Rod Hoisington introduces Raymond and Sandy Reid, estranged brother and sister who now need each other when Ray is arrested for murder, in One Deadly Sister.

Sandy hasn't forgiven her brother for neglecting her as a teenager after the death of their parents. Working for a criminal law firm in Philadelphia until she can earn enough money to go to law school, she hasn't spoken to Ray even though he lives in the same city. But then Ray calls her, in part to apologize but mostly because he needs her help: he's in jail, in Florida, arrested for murder.

Following his divorce, Ray moved to Florida to work as a securities broker. While attending a party for the local gubernatorial candidate, Ray is seduced by an elderly femme fatale. He subsequently gets involved with other prominent women, all of whom support the political candidate. When the candidate is murdered, Ray was placed in his apartment by one of the women. Arrested and jailed without bail, Ray has no one else to turn to but his sister Sandy. At first she ignores his plea, but finally agrees to go to Florida for a few days to see what she can do — if anything. She has no authority to question anyone, or see any of the official police documents, so she takes on the role of private investigator for Ray's defense attorney. She quickly zeroes in on the women Ray was involved with, not sure what their motive might have been, but certain that though her brother may be guilty of poor judgment, he is innocent of murder.

One Deadly Sister is a light murder mystery, full of comedic elements. It's hard to believe, for example, that anyone could characterize a 75-year-old woman in a thong bikini as a femme fatale; just the mental image brings on a chuckle. The contrast between Ray and Sandy, brother and sister, is nicely characterized; they see the same situation differently, bicker and disagree, but are unified in proving Ray innocent and freed from prison (even though Sandy, who was once left in a detention center because Ray didn't show up to release her, might want to see him left there for a while). The mystery plot is well developed, there are an ample number of colorfully drawn suspects, and the secondary characters are delightful. No doubt the first in a series, One Deadly Sister is a terrific opening chapter for this pair of amateur sleuths.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of One Deadly Sister.

Acknowledgment: Rod Hoisington provided a copy of One Deadly Sister for this review.

The Price of Candy
EnteraBooks (Trade Paperback), January 2011
ISBN-13: 9780615427775; ISBN-10: 0615427774

One Deadly Sister

A Sandy Reid Mystery by Rod Hoisington