Reviewed by: Cindy Penn editor.wordweaving.com
Highly recommended

The Agent: Murder By Design 2d in Series
By: mj hollingshead
The Review:

Michael Heath, a devoted husband and father of an infant, calls the pharmacist across the street to request medicine for his colicky baby. Their family is fortunate to live in a quiet neighborhood where everyone still knows one another, and pharmacists can be called in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, Michael takes his safety for granted. On his way back, on a street where traffic is nonexistent at that time, Michael carelessly rushed across the street from between two cars headlong into a white van. He crawls off the street into some bushes, where he dies.

The story doesn't lie with the death of an innocent, however. The truth lies in the contents on the van that stopped when the driver realized he'd hit something. Specifically, the truth lies with a beaten and bound man who escaped, was captured, and thrust back into the back of the van. The owner of the van also owns Hooks Industries, the company building the mall in town. Indeed, the administrative assistant at Hooks Industries would be shocked to learn that the European backers passing through her office with heavy brief cases and closed door conferences carry large stacks of money.

When Nolly Penderson hears the news account of the missing young man retold by vicious rumormongers masquerading as news reporters, she packs a casserole and visits the widow. Nolly's certain that there's more to the story than reporters or police will uncover, so she begins her own investigation. Ruling out the wild speculation of the news media, Nolly approaches the investigation with a generous amount of common sense. Doesn't take her long to learn that Hooks Industries employed Michael. Previous experience leads her to believe there's more to the story, especially when more bodies turns up.

mj hollingshead distinctively reflective prose once again reveals a strong, feminine style that strikingly different from most suspense/murder styles. With a meandering flow that revels in melodic detail and embraces the idiosyncrasies and the motivations of her characters, hollingshead allows the reader to luxuriate in her language, as opposed to the typical hard hitting, straight flow typical of the genre. The result is a fascinatingly intricate creation that reaches beyond the superficial "whodunit" to embrace the "who" and "why".

Senior Editor, http://wordweaving.com
Amazon top 50 reviewer
eBook Specialist, Midwest Book Reviews

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