Award winning author Helen C. Escott is at it again with her Masonic mystery series. This time it’s the Freemasons’ Most Worshipful Grand Master who has met with foul play, and Constabulary Insp. Nicholas Myra and Cst. Donna Whiffen are on the hunt for a murderer.
Much like Dan Brown’s mega-hit The Da Vinci Code, the intrepid police sleuths must sift through history, secrets and symbols to find the perpetrator. Throw in a little treasure hunt through some hidden tunnels and Escott has skilfully, artfully woven together all the threads that produce the glorious tapestry that is a gripping, well crafted and fast paced crime thriller.
This is the fifth installment in Escott’s Operation series and once again Myra is a dedicated bloodhound and a compelling protagonist. He’s easy to like and smart. Whiffen is a solid partner who more than holds her own.
I was, quite honestly, glued to this book. It’s nice to have a good old fashioned page turner to escape into, and if that’s your preference, Escott is an author who has proven she will deliver. Every time I thought I’d figured out who the killer was, I changed my mind.
But these directional shifts were not outlandish or dumb, and they did not take me out of the narrative. If anything, it was just the opposite. It invested me more and more into the outcome. To me, that is a hallmark of a skilled writer.
Once again my chief complaint was actually beyond the author’s control. The book cover began to peel and split, and I find that irritating so, as usual, I docked a point for it.
Thelma’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
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