Melissa F. Miller

Plenty of tension but I can’t believe in the plot or the characters.

A woman is missing, there is evidence of a disturbance and there is blood on the floor but you can’t go the police because 24 hours haven’t elapsed?? Her son canvases all the neighbours and, in the company of a cop neighbour, checks hospitals, bars etc but no-one apparently questions the woman’s continued absence as the days roll on? Not even the cop?

And then there is the lawyer, the central character. She seemed quite interesting. She has recently moved to a new job in the city, and was hard-working and conscientious. She was evidently missing ‘Joe’ who appeared to be a boyfriend who had left her. She was considering a relationship with a work colleague.But, no - she is actually married to Joe and she is the one who left him in their rural home to go to a job in the city; she still hopes he will join her, but they haven’t spoken for three months …

At that point I gave up.… (more)

The first Bodhi King mystery introduces Buddhist Dr. Bodhi King who is a forensic specialist. After gaining too much publicity for his liking, he decided to retire from public view. Now, a case in the Florida Keys draws him back into the world. People who live in an assisted living facility are dying unexpectedly with looks of terror on their faces.

Bodhi is called down to the scene by the local medical examiner. The Golden Life Church which owns the island where the facility is located offers to hire him, but he prefers his independence. It seems strange to him that all the victims were Roman Catholics and not members of the Golden Life Church. Religion plays a strong role in this mystery. Beyond Roman Catholicism and the beliefs of the Golden Life church, there are references to religions brought over from Africa and melded with the Catholic religion which are practiced by some of the victims in this story.

The story is packed with interesting characters. The local police liaison has anger management issues. The local medical examiner is a hippie living in an airstream trailer. The head of the Golden Life Church, a church that seems to have the goal of making everyone wealthy, seems to have an agenda of his own. Bodhi is intriguing too. His Buddhist beliefs are evident.

This is the first of a series that will reach eight books in September.… (more)

I enjoyed this less than the first book. The story just didn’t interest me as much and Sasha came across here as a bit too type A for me. For example, the attitude that “Fear of failure was just an unproductive emotion, an excuse for the weak” spoke to me of a kind of unsympathetic machismo, while statements like “you are not going to call your boyfriend like some hysterical female” struck me as oddly misogynistic. I still like Leo and enjoyed the book most when he was involved. I have the next book so I intend to give the series another chance but I’m hoping it won’t be too formulaic. It would be nice to see Sasha take on a more worthy opponent in the courtroom for example. She can’t be the only lawyer outside Prescott & Talbott who prepares for court, can she?… (more)