A Season to LIe

Police officer Gemma Monroe returns from maternity leave and is immediately plunged back into the job when she finds a dead man at the local private academy. He's been left in the snow, stuck to a tree with a knife in his stomach. The man turns out to be a famous author hiding out in plain sight in Gemma's Colorado town. Even worse, that same private school is being plagued by a vicious bully who calls him or herself "Grimm." Reunited with her partner, Finn, Gemma finds herself dealing with the murder case, the bullying incidents, and a strange construction company--made up mainly of ex-convicts--that seems to have made itself at home in her town. So much for easing herself back into the job...

I very much enjoyed [a:Emily show more Littlejohn|14772246|Emily Littlejohn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471351387p2/14772246.jpg]'s first Gemma Monroe novel, [b:Inherit the Bones|29635550|Inherit the Bones|Emily Littlejohn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472514642s/29635550.jpg|48249398], and was really excited to see the second one come out. It's always exciting to see a realistic female detective portrayed in literature. Gemma is much the same in this second foray--practical and levelheaded. She's back to work after the birth of her daughter, Grace, with whom she was pregnant in BONES. The novel does a great job of portraying a working, breastfeeding mom and giving us a realistic look at the struggles a mom faces when juggling work and motherhood. As a mother who went back to work when her own daughters were young and faced a harried schedule, I really appreciated that about this novel.

Thankfully, I did not encounter a dead body on my first day back, just a lot of meetings! Gemma, of course, takes it all in stride, as she cannot help but enjoy the thrill of the hunt. The novel gives us a lot of reflection and thoughts from Gemma. I'd call this one a bit of a slow-burner. I read it while busy and it took me nearly a week. The storyline wasn't one that had me itching to pick it up and see what happens--there's several divergent plot lines and none feel particularly urgent or overly suspenseful.

A pervasive weariness almost overlays the pages--a reflection of the weather (think snow, all the time) and Gemma's general fatigue as she faces returning to work while juggling having a tiny baby at home. That's not to say the book isn't interesting, because it certainly is. Especially when the case starts to intersect with Gemma and Finn's personal lives--which isn't surprising, considering they are small town police officers/detectives. The Grimm storyline is a bit of a bizarre concept and the resolution, while a total surprise to me, was a bit anticlimactic. A few of the plot threads do tie up a little too easily, but the main case befuddled me throughout the entire novel, so kudos to Littlejohn for that. I had some suspicions, but she convinced me to cast them aside, so I'm always pleased when that happens.

What I enjoyed most about this book was Gemma herself. It's probably obvious that I identify with and like her--I enjoy her steadfast character, even though she also has bouts of anxiety and uncertain times. Seeing her as both a mom and working detective was great. This being a second novel, we're gaining enough recurring characters (Gemma, Finn, Gemma's partner/quasi-husband, Brody, Gemma's grandparents, a few other townspeople) that you recognize them and their quirks. Another plotline is left a bit unresolved, leading me to hope that a third Gemma novel is in the works. Even though this wasn't the most exciting of all mysteries, I found it solid and enjoyable, much like its protagonist. I'd certainly read any Gemma Monroe novel I could get my hands on. 3.5 stars.

You can read my review of the first Gemma novel, INHERIT THE BONES, here.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 11/14/2017.

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Like the first book in the Gemma Monroe series, author Emily Littlejohn proves in A Season to Lie that she can create a premise for a mystery that will keep readers turning the pages. Unfortunately, the story as a whole fell a bit flat for me, and there were two main reasons for this.

One was Gemma's personal life. She's a brand-new mother who's finally come to terms with the fact that she is and that she enjoys being a mother. But somewhere between having to stop and use a breast pump every couple of hours and her partner whining about being stuck at home with a baby, I just wanted her to forget she had a personal life and concentrate on the investigation. Which leads to the second problem.

Gemma's investigation of the death of a famous show more man who was incognito there in Cedar Valley really had my interest until I deduced the identity of the killer by the description of the character and how everyone reacted to the person. From there on in, my interest deflated like a slow leak in a snow tire. I don't like it when this happens because it's not always a sign of my superior deductive skills. Sometimes it's simply a matter of my suspicious nature.

But by all means, your mileage can certainly vary, so don't be hesitant about giving A Season to Lie a try-- especially if you've read the first book in the series. show less

A Season to Lie is the second story in the Detective Gemma Monroe series. I don’t think you need to read the first to read this one. I didn’t and got involved with the characters with ease. It starts with the murder of a famous author who was secretly in the town to write his memoirs. While investigating the murder, Gemma learns of other things happening at the private school the author was lecturing at. It started off well enough and I enjoyed how things developed. As the story unfolded, I too wondered where it will all lead. But it wasn’t suspenseful enough to keep me interested till the end. When it is all resolved, I felt let down, not thrilled.

Gemma has just returned from maternity leave, her daughter Grace left in the care of her partner, when a call to a private school about an intruder, leads to the discovery of a body. Gemma and her police partner Finn soon discover it is the body of a famous author, in the town incognito, only a long time friend knew he was there. This discovery will split the plot into many different threads, one including the Brothers Grimm.

The setting is fabulous, a Colorado ski town, massive amounts of snow falling and more already on the ground. Have to say I like reading about snow much better than actually dealing with it. But the star of this series, of which this is the second, is Gemma herself. She is so easy to relate to, a new mother, missing show more her baby, feeling guilty, but needing to get out and do something. Trying to juggle home, family and her job, often grabbing crap food because there is little time for a proper meal. The pace is brisk, not graphic, but suspenseful enough. A few surprises, though I had an inkling who was involved in the final denoument, though not the full extent of the why.

A good solid new series, with some interesting developments, which I'm sure will be further explored in future books.

ARC from Netgalley. show less

This is the second Gemma Monroe mystery, but I have not read the first in the series. This one stands alone reasonably well without too much backstory clogging things up. Nevertheless, I find the book soggy and not very interesting. Gemma Monroe has recently returned to work after maternity leave and while the first few chapters give ample time to pumping milk at the office and baby baths at home, really, the child feels grafted into the story to be fashionable.

The mystery of the book is sufficiently mysterious, but the high school bullying subplot is lame. There is a cryptic clue, or is it a typo, which seems to refer to a wheelchair having only two wheels. Lots of ordinary police procedures seem to be on hold till Gemma can get around show more to them herself, not the lab techs or the state offices normally handling tech stuff. There were lots of clues lying around waiting for people to get around to looking at them.

I won't go out of my way to read more of this series.

I received a review copy of "A Season to Lie: A Detective Gemma Monroe Mystery" by Emily Littlejohn (St. Martin's) through NetGalley.com. show less

Detective Gemma Monroe is back at work part-time at the Cedar Valley Police Department, after maternity leave. Only to be to be confronted with a dead body out at the local school on her first shift. It doesn't take long for the body to be identified as a famous author who was visiting the town in disguise.
An okay mystery, easy to read, though I am not sure I cared much for the main character, but an interest to see if my idea behind the murder was correct kept me reading to the end.
A NetGalley Book

Detective Gemma Monroe works for the Cedar Valley Colorado Police Department. Reporting for duty after her maternity leave she and her partner Finn are summoned out in a blizzard to investigate a prowler. This call is only the beginning of a twisted chain of events that unveil not only a murder but also bullying, stalkers and lies. Pretty well had this mystery solved from the beginning and just was not invested in the cast of characters. Had some subplots described and some police department personnel that could have been given more depth. This worked fine as a stand-alone. "A copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. The comments here are my honest opinion."