Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Immoral: A Jonathan Stride-Serena Dial Mystery" by Brian Freeman

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Review of "Immoral: A Jonathan Stride-Serena Dial Mystery" by Brian Freeman

In this first book in the 'Jonathan Stride' series, the police detective is troubled by two cases of missing teenage girls. The mystery is chock-a-block with twists, so I'm going to be circumspect in my review to avoid spoilers.

*****

Lieutenant Jonathan Stride of Duluth, Minnesota is having a rough time.

He's still mourning the death of his beloved wife Cindy, who succumbed to cancer, and a 16-year-old girl named Kerry McGrath has been missing for over a year. Stride's investigation failed to turn up any trace of Kerry and now ANOTHER teenage girl, Rachel Deese, has disappeared.

Stride and his detective partner, a diminutive Chinese woman named Maggie Bei, investigate Rachel's disappearance.

Jonathan and Maggie soon learn that Rachel - though beautiful and charismatic - wasn't a ray of sunshine. Rachel was hateful and cruel to her mother; nasty to her stepfather; and regularly made passes at guys, including other girls' boyfriends. The descriptions of Rachel's behavior by her classmates and family reveal a very disturbed young lady.

Before long evidence is found that lead the police to believe Rachel is dead, and - though no body has been found - a suspect is arrested. This results in a jury trial, and there's an epic battle between the prosecution and the defense. The criminal defense lawyer is especially capable, and elicits some surprising testimony.

Skip ahead three years, and the action moves to Las Vegas, Nevada. A body is found near the trailer of a smelly ne'er do well who lives in a decrepit trailer and sells meat jerky.

The Las Vegas case falls to Detective Serena Dial - a tall blonde beauty, and her partner Cordy - an easygoing Latino.

Serena and Cordy interview people all over Las Vegas to try to identify the deceased. Once a name is discovered, the dead person is connected to Duluth, Minnesota....and Serena flies north to consult with Detective Jonathan Stride.

Jonathan and Serena become de facto partners, and proceed to resolve all the mysteries in the story.

I have several problems with this book.

First, the courtroom scenes are overly long and detailed. I felt like I was sitting through an actual lengthy trial. (This may be related to the fact that the author is a lawyer. 😊)

Second, the climax of the story comes out of left field, essentially a deus ex machina. This is unfair to mystery lovers who like to follow the clues and attempt to unravel the puzzle themselves.

Third, the story is filled with scenes that I call 'male fantasy writing.' Jonathan Stride must be one hot number because three women in this story find him irresistible, which leads to steamy sex scenes. As if that's not enough, Serena's partner Cordy mesmerizes a gorgeous exotic dancer (a witness no less)…..so more sex scenes. To put it bluntly, this isn't believable.

All that said, the author put together a compelling mystery, and I'd probably try another book in the Jonathan Stride-Serena Dial series.

Rating: 3 stars

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Barb's Book Reviews

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Review of "Immoral: A Jonathan Stride-Serena Dial Mystery" by Brian Freeman

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