FictionZeal

If we are honest with ourselves, we’d all like a friend with bluntness like Alex Quick.  As a friend, she’d tell you what you need to hear; not necessarily what you want to hear.  But, with her dear friend, Dr. Helena Drummond, she called it wrong.  For some time, Helena had been trying to tell Alex she felt as if someone was stalking her.  Since Alex knew her friend’s flair for the dramatic, she’d not paid attention.  Then, Helena had not shown up for an important meeting with a new client.  She went to Helena’s home in Canterbury and let herself in as they’d exchanged keys.  She found her mutilated body on the bed … No, wait … it wasn’t Helena.  Alex experienced two thoughts simultaneously.  Where was Helena?  Who was this dead woman?

Alex and Helena were collaborators at Drummond & Quick Ltd, working to produce high-quality art book anthologies.  Before this, Alex was a Detective Inspector.  She had cop instincts.  While the police were engaging the thought that Drummond may have been the killer, Alex knew her friend better than that.  At least she thought she knew her.  As she began answering questions for the police, she was finding just how little she really knew about her friend’s life.

The biggest complaint I have of this story is a feeling that Alex, as an ex-cop, should have called the police a little sooner.  Instead, I felt she allowed herself to enter the room and contaminate what would become the scene of the crime.  I really liked Alex’s personality, her rough exterior, and her unwavering faith in her friend.  The story was told at a fast pace and held a nice twist.  Some aspects of the story were not explained fully to my satisfaction.  For the faint of heart, the crime was a bit graphic.  Bottom line, though, is that I’d love to read more of Alex Quick.  Rating: 3.5 out of 5.