Linsey Lanier

This is the first Miranda and Parker mystery. There is apparently considerable backstory in the Miranda's Rights mysteries which I haven't read.

As I began this one, I met Miranda Steele and Wade Parker. He's an upper-class private investigator in Atlanta, Georgia. She's his new wife and former apprentice. They were called by one of Wade's former apprentices who is now a sergeant in the Las Vegas Police Department.

It seems that the sergeant has a case he wants to palm off on someone else. A show more once famous pop singer has been discovered murdered in the desert outside of Las Vegas. She's found with one eye removed by a melon baller. The mutilation is reminiscent of her most popular song All Eyes on Me. Everyone is going to be paying attention as this crime is investigated, and the sergeant doesn't want any part of it.

Parker has been thinking of branching out to work as consultants for other police departments. This looks like a good first test case. He also wants to gently get his new wife involved in investigating again as she's recovering from a serious injury. A roll of the dice makes Miranda the lead in the investigation.

Miranda and Parker are confronted with a wide variety of suspects since the singer has a popular show in Las Vegas and a variety of hangers-on including her former Elvis impersonator husband who has turned into her business manager and her sister who works in the background of her productions. Then there is the chauffeur who wants to be in her band and her personal chef who is very tired of always being asked to make melon balls.

I found this story to be entertaining even if is it wildly unrealistic. I don't believe that police departments farm out murder investigations to hired private investigators. I did enjoy the way Miranda identified suspects and was so sure that each was guilty until evidence showed they weren't. The narrator did a good job ramping up the tension. show less

This is the first Miranda and Parker mystery. There is apparently considerable backstory in the Miranda's Rights mysteries which I haven't read.

As I began this one, I met Miranda Steele and Wade Parker. He's an upper-class private investigator in Atlanta, Georgia. She's his new wife and former apprentice. They were called by one of Wade's former apprentices who is now a sergeant in the Las Vegas Police Department.

It seems that the sergeant has a case he wants to palm off on someone else. A show more once famous pop singer has been discovered murdered in the desert outside of Las Vegas. She's found with one eye removed by a melon baller. The mutilation is reminiscent of her most popular song All Eyes on Me. Everyone is going to be paying attention as this crime is investigated, and the sergeant doesn't want any part of it.

Parker has been thinking of branching out to work as consultants for other police departments. This looks like a good first test case. He also wants to gently get his new wife involved in investigating again as she's recovering from a serious injury. A roll of the dice makes Miranda the lead in the investigation.

Miranda and Parker are confronted with a wide variety of suspects since the singer has a popular show in Las Vegas and a variety of hangers-on including her former Elvis impersonator husband who has turned into her business manager and her sister who works in the background of her productions. Then there is the chauffeur who wants to be in her band and her personal chef who is very tired of always being asked to make melon balls.

I found this story to be entertaining even if is it wildly unrealistic. I don't believe that police departments farm out murder investigations to hired private investigators. I did enjoy the way Miranda identified suspects and was so sure that each was guilty until evidence showed they weren't. The narrator did a good job ramping up the tension. show less

I'm sorry, but I found the novel mostly boring and the main character unlikable.

For a book that screams "She doesn't need a man" about the protagonist, Miranda Steele comes across as an adolescent stuck between 'boys have cooties', while at the same time thinking only of (quoting) 'the luscious lips' of the other guy. For chapters. When she is not thinking about sexy detective, she is having fistfights with every cupboard sized 'evil' man and woman in town (there is a lot of them, show more apparently).

Then there is (sexy) detective Wade Parker and the 'I just met her in prison, she is accused of murder, but I know she is different!'. Of course, the rest of the world cannot see how special Miranda is, never mind that she behaves aggressively and unreasonably or that she manages to be insulting every time she opens her mouth ('I don't need a piece of paper to feel gratified' when she is asked about her studies in a job interview...)

What saved the book was the fact I jumped directly from chapter 15 or so to 29, where the "languid eyes phase" between the two protagonist was mostly over and we finally got back into the story. show less

Miranda is on a quest to find her missing daughter. But the daughter was taken from her as a baby; she’d be a teenager by now. And Miranda doesn’t even know if she’d have anything to offer her—just wants to know that she’s okay. Then she learns of a missing teenage girl who just might have been adopted in the right place at the right time, and she has to know more.

Someone Else’s Daughter by Linsey Lanier is filled with fascinating detail, making Miranda a truly different and show more intriguing character. “…patience… had never been her strong suit.” But fighting, working hard and working out… this once-abused woman is no shrinking violet now. She works on the roads, holds her own with the guys, is stubborn and learns well. So if somebody takes her in hand and trains her… she might find lots of people’s daughters and more.

Sensually direct, never sweet, and filled with contrasts and humor, Someone Else’s Daughter combines exciting action with intriguing mystery and sets the scene for more stories to come. It would make for great TV!

Disclosure: I got it on a deal and I enjoyed it. show less