Anonymous: A Madison Kelly Mystery

 

⭐⭐⭐

 
Elizabeth Breck
Mystery Thriller
320 pages
Published November 10, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
 
Think every private eye looks like Tom Selleck and drives a flashy red Ferrari?  Well, think again!  Meet Madison Kelly – a tall, blonde, cool drink of water who revels in her hometown surfer haven of San Diego.  She may not look like your average PI, but don’t let that fool you – she can definitely hold her own.  Not even a battle with breast cancer can slow down this feisty, feminine force of nature.
 
Madison, fresh off her first murder investigation, is taking some time off to decide which direction she wants to take her career next – stick with her “old hat” of insurance fraud, or is the arena of high-stakes murder cases where her heart really lies?  Out of the blue, Madison comes home to a threatening note nailed to her front door – with one of her long blonde hairs streaming from the nail, no less – warning her to back off her current investigation.  Only she’s not investigating anything currently.  Madison is convinced that the threat is a direct result of her Tweets to a local radio show concerning two cold cases involving missing young women from the Gaslight district.  Not deterred by the threat, but inspired by it, Madison begins her own investigation of these seemingly similar disappearances.
 
My Thoughts:
This spunky who-dunnit is a serious page turner with a lively and fun heroine.  At times, I found myself wishing for a little more “show” rather than “tell” in the story, which left me feeling the novel could have used another round or two of editing to tighten up the descriptions and language.  However, the story is solid and I have no doubt this series (of which this novel is the first) will be a favorite of those crime drama lovers out there (and I know there are a lot of you!).  This is a winning formula for Elizabeth Breck, a first-time novelist, who brings her real-life private investigation experience to the fore in this energetic tale.  If you’re a crime fiction fan, sit back and enjoy Anonymous with The Anonymous Cocktail and don’t miss the Virtual Book Launch Facebook Live event on Thursday, November 19^th at 4:00 PM PST.
 
A big thank you to Elizabeth Breck, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for providing a free Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.
 
Anonymous: A Madison Kelly Mystery released yesterday, November 10^th, and is available now from crime fiction imprint Crooked Lane Books.  Please consider buying from BookShop.org, the online book seller that contributes 75% of the profit margin to support independent bookstores.  (Note: Desiree does receive a small commission should you purchase through this link, however she shares this out of her enduring love for corner bookstores everywhere, rather than for any monetary gain.)