Smell
of Death
A Rocky Bluff
Police Department Mystery
F. M. Meredith
Tigress Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9793857-5-X (097938575X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9793857-5-9 (9780979385759)
Publication Date: December 2007
List Price: $13.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Rocky Bluff Police Officer Stacey Wilbur is called to the home of Darlene Brantley. Upon entering the home, Wilbur finds Brantley dead, and in a strange twist of events, Brantley's mother is also found murdered on the same night in her own home. While Wilbur assists Detective Doug Milligan in solving these crimes, other members of Rocky Bluff P.D. are on the lookout for the Barefoot Burglars and engage in a search for a missing toddler, hoping to catch the person responsible before another child disappears.
Review:
Smell of Death
is the fourth mystery in this series by F. M. Meredith featuring the
investigative efforts of a police department in the (fictional) small
coastal community of Rocky Bluff in southern California.
A veritable crime wave has struck Rocky Bluff. The brutal
double murder of a mother and daughter, in separate locations and using
different means, has the police department baffled. A series of daring
home burglaries has taken place with two things in common: the thefts
occur while the homeowners are present and the burglars leave behind
bare footprints. A child has gone missing, presumably kidnapped, though
no ransom demand is made. And then there are the assorted petty crimes
that keep officers busy day and night.
Smell of Death
is written largely in the style of a television crime drama. Reading
the book is not unlike watching a show; both can be accomplished in one
sitting and both typically have an intriguing start and a conclusion
that wraps up all loose ends. In this regard, Smell of Death
works as a
pleasant way of spending a couple of hours.
As a police procedural, Smell
of Death often gives up too much information to the
reader, leaving very little in the way of suspense. The culprits are
known to the reader well before the officers investigating the crime
are aware of them. This approach can be quite successful (such as in
the Columbo series of television mysteries) but here it's a bit flat
possibly because there are too many officers investigating too many
cases. To her credit, the author cleverly links everything together in
the end, but it seems almost contrived by this point.
The personal lives of these officers are also explored. In contrast to
the professional aspects of the story which seem genuine and real,
these personal stories don't ring true at all. Fortunately, they don't
take up all that much of the narrative but are somewhat distracting
nonetheless.
Special thanks to Marilyn Meredith for providing a copy of Smell of Death for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Final Respects
The Fiction Works (Trade Paperback), January 2004
ISBN-10: 1-58124-444-4 (1581244444)
Bad Tidings
The Fiction Works (Trade Paperback), March 2004
ISBN-10: 1-58124-788-5 (1581247885)
Fringe Benefits
Tigress Press (Trade Paperback), January 2007
ISBN-10: 0-9771601-9-X (097716019X)
Smell of Death
Tigress Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9793857-5-X (097938575X), December 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-9793857-5-9 (9780979385759)
Omnimystery keywords for Smell of Death ...
Location(s) referenced: California.