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The Rise of the Red Queen

A Red Solaris Mystery by Bourne Morris

The Rise of the Red Queen by Bourne Morris

Review: The Rise of the Red Queen, the second mystery in this series by Bourne Morris, opens with Dr. Meredith "Red" Solaris assuming the position of interim Dean of Journalism at the Mountain West University in Landry, Nevada. A year ago she had been temporarily appointed to lead the department; the Dean had died and the journalism faculty were at odds with one another causing havoc of all kinds. Only she was able to bring calm to the uncontrolled members. Once they all agreed to settle their differences, the faculty accepted her as their interim dean and nicknamed her "The Red Queen". The position is temporary, however; she is competing with two very eligible men, a close friend of hers plus a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. As acting dean, Red has many functions to fulfill besides doing her job teaching classes as a professor of Journalism. She must try to control and suppress any fights and arguments among the other professors, be a part of various committees, and she was just recently asked to join a task force to set the guidelines and develop a policy for dealing with sexual assault on the campus, both for the victim and the attacker. But before she can attend her first meeting, an older man gets her attention by telling her that his granddaughter has been missing for a few days. The police won't help as she is twenty-one and free to come and go as she wishes. But he and her roommate say Jamie would never just leave with telling where she was going. Red agrees to call her boyfriend, Detective Joe Martin, and urge him to look into the disappearance of Jamie Congers. Joe agrees to help Wynan Congers (a police officer in Las Vegas before his retirement) find his granddaughter if Red will stay out of it. From past experience Joe knows she is a woman with excellent insights and she's as smart as can be, but she doesn't listen to anyone's intelligent advice and always thinks she knows just one better. Although Jamie was seen talking to a tall man wearing overalls and heavy boots, and driving an old gray truck, there is no evidence that she was kidnapped. Red's approach to solving problems is to follow her own leads and well as Joe's, only this time she finds herself in as much danger as Jamie.

The dynamic relationship between Red and Joe is a big plus for The Rise of the Red Queen; they are quite the couple and it's one of the strongest elements of the book. The storyline is interesting and well-developed and the college setting makes for a compelling backdrop. There's something about an academic environment that seems perfectly suited for a mystery. A top-flight cozy with likeable characters and a strong plot, a solid read overall.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Rise of the Red Queen.

Acknowledgment: Henery Press provided an ARC of The Rise of the Red Queen for this review.

Review Copyright © 2016 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …

Mystery Book Review: The Red Queen's Run by Bourne MorrisThe Red Queen's Run
Henery Press (Trade Paperback), December 2014
ISBN-13: 9781940976570; ISBN-10: 194097657X

Location(s) referenced in The Rise of the Red Queen: Nevada

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The Rise of the Red Queen by Bourne Morris

The Rise of the Red Queen by A Red Solaris Mystery

Publisher: Henery Press
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-943390-29-8
Publication Date:
List Price: $15.95

Buy the Book (purchase options)

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Page Author: Lance Wright
Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews

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