Rick Murcer

I love Rick Murcer’s Manny William’s series so it was a no-brainer that I would devour this one as fast as his others. His writing is never bogged down with pages of fancy descriptions but has a lot of dialogue, which is what makes the story fast paced. He also seems to have a good knowledge of how a police department is run so there isn't anything that makes the reader doubt what is happening. It took no time at all to get hooked on Murcer’s newest protagonist, Ellen Harper, a hotshot show more forensic tech with an uncanny ability to put pieces together and help solve the hard cases. Ellen has had some rough times in the recent past- a messy divorce and dealing with the loss of her mother- and she’s having a hard time getting past these issues, getting called into her boss’ office over and over for her anger issues. To make matters worse (or maybe better), the police chief Ellen has to answer to also happens to be her dad.

There’s a new serial killer in town, a nasty murderer who kidnaps beautiful women, tortures them and then strangles them, leaving them for the police to find with the cryptic message “Not Her.” Ellen has a big job to do, searching through all the evidence for any tiny clue that will lead to the murderer before the next kidnapped victim shows up dead. But like any good thriller, Ellen catches the eye of the killer and she ends up working to save herself too.

This book starts off fast and doesn’t slow down. Ellen is a great character with a lot of depth, and as the story goes along we get to know her and see her grow throughout the book. The other characters fit well into the story too and it all pieces together to make an ending that you won’t believe. I loved this book and really hope that another book in the series is coming soon. Another winning series for sure by Rick Murcer! show less

Drop Dead Perfect by Rick Murcer is a mystery/thriller set in Chicago, Illinois. Ellen Harper is a forensics tech with the Chicago Police Department. She also has an extremely bad temper and hitting issues. Ellen ended up getting hit by female officer, Bella Sanchez (of course, Ellen hit back). Bella asked if she looked fat in her evening gown, and Ellen told her the truth (it is not a good thing when someone looks like a sausage in too tight a casing). Ellen’s husband left her a year ago show more with a text message! He sent her a text stating he had fallen in love with someone else. When Ellen arrived at home, she found divorce papers. Ellen has let her personal issues affect her attitude at work. Good thing her father, Harvey Patterson, is her boss and very understanding. Ellen does like to paint (her work sounds lovely) and has a cute grey cat named Mulder.

Their latest case involves women being kidnapped, murdered, and, when the women are found, they are dressed up and staged. Detective Brice Rogers and his new partner, Bella Sanchez are assigned the case along with Ellen and her partner, Oscar. They are hoping to follow the forensic clues to find the killer before he kidnaps and murders again. Ellen will have a little difficulty focusing on the case because she has noticed the handsome and kind Brice Rogers. Ellen is finally starting to get over her scoundrel of an ex-husband. Read Drop Dead Perfect to see what happens between Ellen and Brice as well as who is behind the heinous murders.

I give Drop Dead Perfect 4 out of 5 stars. I liked it, but did not love it. I found Ellen’s friend, Kate Mortimore just delightful. She provided some great comic relief! I think Ellen’s anger was over the top. In reality she probably would have been fired and sued! There is foul language sprinkled throughout the book. Drop Dead Perfect was a good first book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of Drop Dead Perfect from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are entirely my own. show less

This book throws you immediately into the fray and keeps you reading. Though presented with action quickly, Murcer does a very good job of both introducing the characters, particularly those who will likely populate later books in this new series, while also moving the current mystery/case forward. Ellie, the protagonist, certainly has some of the traits you expect from a contemporary character of her type (personality flaws which are also endearing, not just good but the 'best' at what she show more does) but these potential cliches are not used as such.

This first installment is an intriguing story with more unexpected twists than foreseen occurrences, which is a difficult thing to pull off. Additionally it creates an interest in Ellie that made me want to read future books in the series. Highly recommended for lovers of psychological thrillers, forensic thrillers and character driven stories.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads. show less

Caribbean Moon
by Rick Murcer
3 Faerie Points

Before I start in on the main review of this book I need to go on a bit of a rant about something that ticks me off about books, which was brought back up for me with this particular book. In one section of this book, I won't mention where due to spoilers, the author has a character talk about fags and queers in a basic derogatory manner. In Murcer's case I can forgive him somewhat because it is from the viewpoint of a killer, but a part of me show more can't even forgive him. If a writer wants to talk down about gay people I think there needs to be a bit of a balance in their book where they put something positive about them as well, so that readers that may identify in that particular persuasion do not instantly want to throw the book (or in my case their kindle) out of a moving vehicle. When did it become okay to just blatantly be hateful in writing with no balance? I would have given this particular book a higher rating if it hadn't been for this simple inclusion on Murcer's part.

There was another less minor issue that I had with Murcer's writing of "Caribbean Moon", which was that he included religion sometimes in the weirdest spots. A character would be dealing with something very profound on the case and suddenly they would mention God or have a thought about him. I understand a writer that believes in Christ including those elements in their work, but it needs to feel organic in the story. There was one point of the book where it was organic and felt very much a natural part of the story. This was in the preacher woman that was on one of the islands. This didn't feel like Murcer was forcing religion into his story. I understand that I am not an author and nor should I criticize heavily on any aspect of writing, but again elements of a story need to feel natural to the reader. The inclusions of religion in many spots of this book felt like an after thought that Murcer has shoved in to appeal to the Christian market. It doesn't work that well here.

The murder mystery aspect of this story and the character of Manny Williams, however, does work masterfully in this story. The story is just a fun little romp on a cruise ship that turns deadly. Murcer makes you feel like you have been on a cruise even if you never have (I never have been) because he tells us that the basic behavior of them is crazy and over the top. This drags us into the world that Williams finds himself in. The story develops in a manner that is believable and at times jaw-dropping. One of the only issues with the mystery aspect of the book is the sheer number of people that end up dead in the book or have something horrible happen to them. It feels like a bit much, but it adds to the urgency of the story as well, thus I am not sure I would have changed this aspect, but still it could be seen as a deficit to another reader of the book.

I would give Murcer's "Caribbean Moon" a solid three faerie points with a few knocks coming off for some of the above issues I have mentioned. If you are looking for a story where you can just try to figure out what is really going on in the story without a lot of moral questions then this could be the book for you. It is definitely one that I could see people sitting on their lawns in their lawn chairs devouring in a single sitting. show less