Death in Disguise by Sally Spencer

There's a dead American in one of the suites of the Royal Victorian Hotel.  Not only that, but it's murder.  The hotel manager is astounded and wants it resolved as soon as possible and without putting his facility in the limelight.  He wasn't much concerned about the victim...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read and review this book (thank you).  It will be published August 1st.

Monika is expecting a straight forward case.  It will take some investigation to find out who visited her in the suite but it should be doable.  The problem is that no one saw anything, she didn't talk to anyone at the hotel, and she's traveling under a false name.  She grew up in the states and wrote books about famous people with lots of dirt from the past revealed.  No one knows what she was working here in England.

From here, the story gets even more complex.  The person they think they've uncovered from the false identity is not that person either.  The secrets go back for years.  The moneyed families involved have died out but the evil history still exists.

To solve this crime, they have to solve the murder from years ago.  With certain facts brought to light and a box that holds secrets they finally get answers.  The killer was a real surprise to me but hatred is a strong motivator.

This was a good read but Ms. Spencer always makes her stories a bit dark.  Be prepared to meet evil.

Supping with the Devil by Sally Spencer

Monika's boss that had an affair with her is blaming Monika for his wife's drunk driving death.  It's not her fault, but he won't forgive her.  So he sends her to the Earl of Ridley's Rock Festival as a consultant.  It's calculated to shame her and make her quit.  Instead, she ends up right in the middle of a can of worms...

Severn House Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

This is the 8th book in this series.  I only found Monika a book or so ago.  She's a wounded soul who has turned into a very good detective.  She's still weak on the emotional front and that's what caused her affair with the Super.  But she's a dedicated and determined investigator who will find the perpetrator no matter the cost to herself.  In this story, her personal cost is high.

If it's not odd enough an Earl wants to relive Woodstock, he hires a motorcycle gang to keep the peace.  Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

At the core of this, there are games being played at the castle, on the grounds and at the police station.  The new man brought up to head up Monika's team while she's away is a manipulator who is trying to break the team apart by causing doubt, fear, and anger in the members against other members.  Unfortunately, her cops have more experience with that than he does, so it doesn't work.  The countess in the castle is trying to cause her son another breakdown so she can get the castle back.  The staff at the castle does as it is commanded at the castle no matter what it costs them.  And there's an undercover man in the middle of the festival transactions who is making money all the way around by screwing everybody.  Trying to figure out how this all related and just what happened when a young girl dies of heroin during her performance and a reporter was killed not long after being on the castle grounds is tough.  Monika is picking at it though, and will figure it out.

I didn't like what the author did to Monika in this book.  Monika has been a pretty depressed character in this series but I found the motorcycle gang a little over the top.  I also found out the disclosure at the end of the book hard to take.  You'll need to read it to see what you think, but the author disappointed me.  I don't like seeing the main character in the series being treated badly.  Maybe it's because I like Monika and how her team works and want to read more about that.  We'll have to see what happens in the next book.

Death's Dark Shadow by Sally Spencer

Monika Paniatowski is a good cop but her boss is a pain.  When she finds a dead woman by the canal and finds out she's a foreigner, he forbids her to track down her history by visiting the country.  She has to work with what she has.  Frustrated, she calls an old friend...

Severn House and Net Galley let me download a copy of this ebook to read for review (thank you).  The book will be published March 1st, 2014, so make a note on your TBR list to pick it up then.

Monika calls her old mentor, Charlie Woodend, and asks if he would do some checking for her.  He's very willing; he's a bit bored with retired life.  As he and his friend look for information, they also have to be careful because questions are discouraged and odd activity attracts police attention.  They have a couple of trouble spots, but they get their information.

Monika has been talking to the husband and son about the tragedy of a long lost wife just coming to unite herself with her family and being murdered before she met them.  When the husband is tortured and garroted, she's not sure what she's facing or why that happened.  There must be another player, but who could it be?

This is an interesting story that has ties to war, gold, and a broken family.  I was hoping Monika might have a chance at romance, but no such luck.  I enjoyed the read and it has an ironic ending.  If you like mysteries, you'll enjoy this one, too.

Happy reading.