Karine Woodbine scrambles out of bed, upset that her husband has left the bedroom without waking her.
Fuming, she storms out of the house to catch her flight to Atlanta.
Four hours later, Valerie Samuels turns up for work, only to find that her key to the Woodbine’s house is missing from where she hid it. A stroke of luck backfires when she stumbles upon the mutilated body of Allan Woodbine. Panic-stricken, how does Valerie react?
Detective Inspector Jack Lilly receives the nod to lead the investigation in to the murder of his best friend. But why is he getting the jitters about Valerie? And is Karine as innocent as she insists?
As the search intensifies, a slew of criminality threatens to divert the focus. However, Inspector Lilly is determined that nothing will stand in his way… be it friendship, blackmail, kidnapping or more murders.
The race is on in earnest and the stakes are very high. Fasten your seatbelts, you’re in for a shocking ride.
Enigmatic & Intriguing!
Wow! Such a lot going on – I’m quite breathless keeping up!
Karine Woodbine is heading off on a six-week trip; having left her packing until the last possible moment she is annoyed and angry when she wakes to find her husband has risen from their bed but not thought to wake her up. In a tizzy, she throws clothes and shoes into her suitcase, and screeches out of the garage on her way to catch her flight, still furious at her spouse. Four hours later, the housekeeper Victoria Samuels, turns up for work to find her door key missing. When she does get into the house, by a fluke, she discovers the mutilated and very dead body of Allan Woodbine and lets panic take over her actions. Allan best friend, Detective Inspector Jack Lilly, is put in charge of the investigation and he’s not convinced of either woman’s innocence. Then, to cloud matters, a rash of crime rears it’s ugly head but Jack is determined to get to the truth about Allan’s death.
There is such a lot going on in this book that you really need to keep your wits about you; wondering if Jack would get to the bottom of things certainly kept me hooked! At times, I thought it was a little long-winded and just a little editing would make it sharper reading. However, I can’t take away from the fact that this is an enigmatic and intriguing read. I always enjoy reading about other cultures and, frankly, I’m not sure if I could survive travelling on the local bus service – what hair-raising rides they proved to be. Definitely worth a read, and one I’m happy to give 4*.
My thanks to the author for my copy of his novel; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: mystery thriller
- Format: ebook
- Size: 329 pages
- Publication Date: 14 December 2020
- Book Links:
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56300928
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Key-Sheldon-Peart-ebook/dp/B08QMKXB6L
Author Details
Sheldon Peart is retired and lives in Jamaica, West Indies. His long working career in Government has allowed him to experience life from different perspectives. Now, with time on his hand, he has focused on the one area he has always loved – writing. This has given him real joy and fulfilment, and with his love for storytelling, he has found a fitting substitute for the long arduous hours which his working career demanded. He has written six books- ‘Beyond the Fence,’ ‘ That Blooming System,” Heaven’s Open Book’, ‘Beyond the Hill’. ‘The Real Principal’ and ‘The Hidden Key.’
He is an avid guitarist, enjoys a good debate and gets tremendous satisfaction from his community work in the field of education. He is married and has four adult children and three grandchildren.
- Twitter: @SheldonPeart
- Facebook: @SheldonPeart
Grace J Reviewerlady 