Kate Flora

Fifth in a series featuring Thea Kozak, a private-school consultant who keeps having to solve murders. In this outing, Thea has had to leave her boyfriend, Maine State cop Andre Lemieux, behind in Boston while she attends a conference in Hawaii which is focussed on single-sex education for girls. Then the executive director of the sponsoring association is found dead in her hotel room. Thea (who is on the board of directors) ends up not only taking over the running of the conference, but show more trying to solve the murder, eventually at the risk of her life. As usual, Kate Flora gives us interesting characters and fascinating plot. Recommended. show less

I ran across Books in Motion a couple of years back. They apparently got their start catering to long distance truck drivers producing some very good original audio recordings with their own stable of readers.

A prominent medical doctor is discovered dead in his Mercedes with his "ahem" at full mast and several shades of lipstick on the more sensitive portions of his anatomy. Joe Burgess, the detective catching the case, soon learns from his young second wife of his predilection for the show more euphemistic BJ at night in his car. No one liked Dr. Stephen Pleasant and the suspect list grows. Even Joe had a reason to dislike him as the doctor had screwed up his mother's treatment. No point in recapping the plot. Engaging and well-read with a very likable protagonist.

It's always interesting to read a book of this genre by an author with credentials, and knowing what those are often sheds light on incidents which occur in the book. A little investigating revealed that Flora, author of several other mysteries and some true crime reportage, was an assistant attorney general in Maine so she knows Portland and the crime milieu well. In one scene, Burgess attacks his boss because the evidence relating to the murder and rape of a child was being lost or contaminated. Turns out the alleged perp was from a prominent family and could hire an expensive lawyer, so strings were being pulled in the rapist's favor. I wonder if Flora hadn't suffered through her own rage at the rich and well-connected's ability to get off. show less

Thea Kozak, consultant to boarding schools in crisis, is called to manage the controversy surrounding claims of a young black student that she is being stalked and the school is doing nothing about it. Sensitive portrayal of the issue using a nicely prickly, realistically developed character. The ending is a bit over-the-top.

Thea Kozak's mother browbeats her into investigating the suspicious death of a philandering banker. Interesting plot twists! Although I prefer the books where Thea's work as a consultant to private schools engenders the investigation, this was a good entry in the series.