Pages

Monday, June 13, 2022

Review: Shadow Ridge by M. E. Browning

Author: M. E. Browning
publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 2020

Echo Valley, Colorado, is a place where the natural beauty of a stunning river valley meets a budding hipster urbanity. But when an internet stalker is revealed to be a cold-blooded killer in real life the peaceful community is rocked to its core.

It should have been an open-and-shut case: the suicide of Tye Horton, the designer of a cutting-edge video game. But Detective Jo Wyatt is immediately suspicious of Quinn Kirkwood, who reported the death. When Quinn reveals an internet stalker is terrorizing her, Jo is skeptical. Doubts aside, she delves into the claim and uncovers a link that ties Quinn to a small group of beta-testers who had worked with Horton. When a second member of the group dies in a car accident, Jo's investigation leads her to the father of a young man who had killed himself a year earlier. But there's more to this case than a suicide, and as Jo unearths the layers, a more sinister pattern begins to emerge--one driven by desperation, shame, and a single-minded drive for revenge.

As Jo closes in, she edges ever closer to the shattering truth--and a deadly showdown that will put her to the ultimate test.

Shadow Ridge is the first book in the Jo Wyatt mystery series.  Jo is a detective in Echo Valley, Colorado.  She is called to an apparent suicide, but she thinks there is more behind the man's death.  Soon she is sucked into the gamer world all while trying to prove herself in her precinct.   This is a new to me series.  I was pleasantly surprised as how much I enjoyed it.

I really liked Jo as a character.  She is a smart woman who has her issues, but isn't over the top  tortured.  She stuck to her convictions even though it may have cost her peace among her fellow police.  I also liked her partner, Squint.  He was a great mentor and he faith in Jo was solid.  As for the mystery, I was intrigued and thought the plot was well laid out.  The solution was a surprise. The epilogue was a very satisfying.  I flew through this one and have the next book on hold already.  I look forward to another mystery with Jo.

No comments: