Heather Haven

Get ready for a wild ride, this book is non-stop from beginning to end. Sure it starts on a calm Sunday morning and escalates quickly when Lee’s husband is called into action to find his cousin’s husband, Martin, who is missing in the Guatemalan jungle. Despite her being an indoor kind of girl, he recruits Lee onto the mission because he senses there is a mystery to solve at the archeological dig where his cousin works. He is of course right. Kidnapping, vandalism, theft, maybe murder? show more Lee is on a roll pulling together the facts and clues with her “survival trained” CEO mother in tow and her trusty, IT genius brother on the sat phone. The Alvarez Family is on the case. Twists and turns abound leading to a grand reveal that is as humorous as it is serious. I certainly never picked up on all the secrets.

I loved this book.

I chose to read it because I live with a junior archeologist and my daily life is filled with words like stratigraphy, digs, grants, and finds. Plus, there is lecture upon lecture about ancient artifacts, ancient history, and just what it all means (spoiler alert: It’s probably ritual). The fairly recent discoveries of LIDAR enhanced ruins covering the jungles of Central America are of particular interest around here at the moment. This book looked like fun and I am always looking to see if someone writing a story about this stuff gets it right. Heather Haven definitely did.


This is a story of intrigue, backstabbing, and just plain greed and that is just the academics on staff. Once people start dying the story really gets interesting. This book has a large cast of characters, all of them vivid and well written and so perfectly suspect. The relationship between Lee and her mom, Lila, is hilarious. On one hand, Lee is a grown woman who has proven time and again that she is quite capable, yet Lila can reduce her to gibbering incoherence in a single glance. “But, Mom!” is the comedic subtext behind most of their dialogue. Still, the two make a terrific sleuthing team and there is a lot of ground to cover in this tale. In addition to great characters, the description of the look and feel of the jungle and rainforests is spot on and puts the reader right in it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily show less

Heather Haven's series about the Alvarez family of Industrial P.I.'s just gets better and better! This time, Lee and her honey, Gurn, are enjoying the mud baths in Calistoga, when she gets a frantic call for help from her family. No one but Heather Haven could make wiping mud off as funny. Heather Haven's book takes off like a shot, with plenty of action, great descriptions of one of my favorite cities, and then there's her incredible timing with humor! Lee's wacky sense of humor is always show more spot on, giving this reader a chance to smile and even giggle at her interior thoughts, even though the plot of this mystery is centered around a nasty child porno ring. My favorite is still, "Danger Will Robinson, Danger!" Okay, you'll just have to read it. I have to say that I couldn't help but pump my fist when Lee, with the help of family and friends, gets the bad guys, and girls, in the end show less

Heather Haven's writing is AWESOME! Yep. Awesome! She blends lots of mystery and suspense with humor and greatastic characters. It's quirky and it's twisty, and it's one that I am so happy to have had the chance to review.

Liana "Lee" Alvarez is put on the case of the cheating husband, and man, she's NOT dressed for the occasion. She's used to being in the office helping with the techno stuff. But, she can't turn down her mom's friend in a time of need. So, on a pouring down rainy day, show more dressed in heels and intent on investigating, Lee heads to San Francisco to the gather the clues of the cheating hubby. When she's forced to take cover in the phone booth near the warehouse where she's investigating, she finds a lonely little kitten who looks more like drowned rat. She takes him home and enlists the aid of her Latino uncle in kitten sitting while she sets out to solve the crime of the murdered cheater. But, what happens when she goes to give her statement and finds
that SHE is a suspect, since she was the last known person at the scene of the crime?

I had so much fun following Lee around, gathering clues and piecing the puzzle together. I was a little sad when the turns twisted and she ended up in the hospital. But, between her and her fun loving brother, that sadness was quickly replaced with thrills as the crime was coming full light. Awesome!

I highly recommend this book with 4 star praises. It's the start of a series that is SURE to be a hit selling one, and a series that I can't wait to collect and read more about this Latino WASP investigator! Well done, Heather! show less

The first Persephone Cole mystery (also published under the title "The Dagger Before Me").

I liked the character of Percy (as her friends and family call her) and the 1940s New York City setting. Unfortunately, I found the mystery itself somewhat predictable -- I figured out 'whodunit' pretty early (although perhaps I was helped by the fact I recently finished an Evelyn Waugh book!) which normally I am not good at doing. I was assisted in that by the format (which I didn't like) of every show more other chapter being from the killers' perspective.

Another thing that bothered me was a picky detail -- the author consistently misspelled the name of the famous actor Laurence Olivier. How hard is it to check that sort of detail?? I checked the newer edition (with the new title) and this error remains uncorrected. I know that I am being very picky but this indicates a sloppiness on the part of the author/editor/publisher which I find upsetting. show less