Murder in Admonishment

Doyle & Acton #17

by Anne Cleeland

This case was a strange one; Detective Sergeant Kathleen Doyle was investigating what appeared to be an "admonishment" murder—a lower-level player in a turf war had been murdered to serve as a warning by a rival gang.
But the whole point of an admonishment-murder was to send a message, and in this case, it was unclear who was sending it, or even to whom it was being sent. And they’d another problem, in that Scotland Yard couldn’t even seem to come up with a cause of death. . .

Genres: Mystery, Crime, British Literature

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2023

About the author

Anne Cleeland writes a contemporary Scotland Yard mystery series that is featured in the Amazon top 100 best sellers. She also writes a historical series of stand-alone books set in the Regency period. A member of International Thriller Writers, The Historical Novel Society, and Mystery Writers of America, she lives in California and has four children. www.annecleeland.com; @annecleeland.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting and my head is still spinning with all the twists and turns of this fabulous installment. I was intrigued by the two ghosts in Kathleen’s dreams this time. It was like a treatise on the destructive power of unrequited love.

Oh, but I wanted that spiteful asshat Gabriel to be garroted. What he did was unforgivable, not to mention assault. I adore Kathleen but I was rather disappointed in her conspiring with Gabriel to keep quiet instead of prodding him to come clean. Gabriel should commit seppuku; not get an HEA.

Kathleen harsh scolding of Lizzie felt unbalanced, especially when she is secure in Acton’s absolute devotion. Lizzie acted out of love wherein Gabriel acted out of spite. Ironically, Doyle seems blind to Philippe’s sinister machinations towards the willfully naive Mary, who stupidly thinks she has choices when she’s been manipulated to the altar by Philippe. Well, at least she’s landed another wealthy benefactor.

Lestrade’s appearance and veiled threat is a reminder that Doyle’s (self-defense) killing of Savoie’s younger brother still looms like the sword of Damocles.

My heart broke for Lizzie. Thomas needed an arse kicking for making her feel so undervalued; but he got his wake up call at the dinner party.

Whoa that dinner party!!! My mouth hit the floor at least five times at the many machinations of Lord Acton.

I do think McGonigal and Callie would suit just fine, a sister for a sister after all. That scoundrel Gabriel doesn’t deserve a happy ending for his despicable behavior and I can’t think why Acton would think that that drug addict Gabriel is the better catch for his half-sister. I hope he dies. Along with smarmy Melinda.

As always, I was swept away by the universe of Acton, Doyle and company. The two boys, Edward and Tommy, are adorable. Reynolds is the steady rock and soul of the series. I even liked Munoz and wish her happiness. I look forward to the next book in this outstanding series.

[AlwaysV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another heart-pounding ~ pulling my hair out ~ ranting -loving every word ~ installment ~ as usual! But the ranting part really hurt my heart 💔 I'd address it first, so that I could stop obsessing and getting furious and then moved on!

Lord Acton always took care and protected all of his beloved wife, Kathleen's friends. He did that here, but something unthinkable happened! None of them was there for him when he was attacked while trying to protect them! While he was so vulnerable, not one soul came to his aide! No one took his back! He could've fallen into the enemy's hands, hadn't Hermano, a kitchen staff worker, rushed in and helped him. So! Yeah! I was furious! And how they attacked him? That a huge despicable spoiler!

Lots of action in this mystery was not what I anticipated at all! Lord Acton's top notch people, like Lizzie or Gabriel, were worse than criminals! Seriously! Sure! They were blind with love! But Love shouldn't be an excuse for their fragrant crimes! More spoilers here!

The saving grace showed up as Lord Acton's medieval ancestor's ghost ~ Lady Acton ~ who came to Kathleen in her dreams with important message. Fortunately, Kathleen nailed the cryptic interpretation speedily! Not in time to help Lord Acton, but to heal him! So kudos to Doyle!

The theme of this book carried a heavy religious undertone! All the chapter narrative would only make complete sense with religious interpretation ~ just like the title itself!

What I Love about this installment could be summed up in one of my favorite scenes below:

But he wasn't quite asleep, as he murmured,
"Only put a robe on, before you open the door."

"No point; there's no repairin' our reputations, here."

But she was to receive no reply, as his head turned into the pillow, and he began breathing deeply.

“Good night, Michael,” she whispered, as she pulled the coverlet over him.
“I’ll watch over you, for a change.”

💘💝

[Teresa Daugherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

When I saw the newest installment of Acton and Doyle I did a happy dance. I always enjoy the books and I have been a fan since Murder in Thrall. My heart hurts for sweet Kathleen sometimes but she is a strong woman.
In this Munoz and Doyle are called to a scene of a dead woman with no apparent injuries. When they arrive they note that she worked at the Met on the Tip Line.
Also in this book is Savoie and Mary's wedding.
I can always count a a great read with Ms. Cleelands books and this is no exception. Set back and get ready for a mystery and Kathleen's special "turn a phrase".

[Barbara Monajem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read, like every other book in this series. Usually when a Doyle and Acton book comes out, I save it for a while, waiting for a time when I really need a good read. As usual, this strategy worked well. I loved the story and look forward to saving and savoring the next installment in the series. :)

[Ez · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Slight spoilers below* I'm giving this book 4.5 stars but liked it enough to round it up to 5. While I've found a lot of books in this series repetitive at times (I'm looking at you, Acton, for continually hiding schemes from your wife which she always unravels by sheer luck as well the small number number of cases Acton and Doyle have actually worked on but someone manage to never be fully resolved and crop up every flipping book), Murder in Admonishment had a slightly different feel to it than some of the other books. The focus seemed to be more on the characters surrounding Acton and Doyle as well as their love for each other and I was there for it. It allowed for a bit more development in one of my favourite fictional couples as well as some of the secondary characters and with a lot of the more recent books being more of the same where Doyle is visited by a ghost who urges her to crack her husband's latest potential minefield via a series of cryptic clues, it was Acton who'd had a spot of bother for once. I'm a romance reader at heart so I was all for the author chucking in a few private moments between Michael and Kathleen. Be warned, though - the book not only ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the actual murder case isn't solved so while there was an admonishment murder, the reader doesn't really get the ins and outs of why and by who. This didn't bother me, but I must admit it's made me grimace a little at the thought of future books in this series once again dragging on a case well past its used by date. Once again, the scandals facing the Met and it's associated antagonists that have been creeping around since Book 1 are once again brought up, weaving their way into Acton and Doyle's lives. How the Public Accounts case has managed to be dragged out this long by the author is either ridiculous or a major feat. As the series has grown, so have the references to past cases that are never fully put to rest from this author and she's trying incredibly hard to make sure her readers think the Met is a cesspool of sin and corruption. Thankfully, the increased time spent on Acton and Doyle stopped me from wanting to throw myself into traffic and I really enjoyed the book.

Ghosts (literally) from the past crop up again and Doyle's relived to see that maybe Karma has caught up with a past nemesis. Here's a hint - a brasser of a character. Here's a tip - don't take a shot every time Doyle says or thinks brasser because you might die of alcohol poisoning. The word was obviously a firm favourite with the author for this book because the reader gets to see it trotted out often. Savoie and Mary's marriage finally goes ahead and surprisingly, considering the momentous event, Phillipe didn't really feature that much (boo - I love him). I liked the return of the little Italics teasers at the start of some chapters, although they'd mostly disappeared by the latter chapters in the book. There were a couple of really good twists in this book that I didn't see coming and this added to the entertainment value for sure, even if some bits towards the end were a bit of a stretch. The writing style is the same as the other books in the series although this one had a few obvious typos.

Overall, I enjoyed it. There was still a bit of the same repetition that I've been finding really frustrating in this series as past cases are constantly brought up and used as examples (which might serve as a warning for any readers that are thinking of starting further along in the series - there will definitely be spoilers). While the first one or two are helpful when it's been a long drink in between releases, the author always takes this to the nth degree - the Dublin case is trotted out a few times in this one in a somewhat strange and random way. I think the slightly lesser focus on the case itself (there were few leads and it was mostly dropped) helped give me a bit of breather with this though as the ongoing, never-ending and overarching cases can certainly become tedious and make the series drag. I'll be one-clicking the next book though.

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Doyle & Acton Mystery
Publication Date: 2/28/23
Period: Contemporary London
Number of Pages: 255

I’m not sure what it is, exactly, about this quirky series that intrigues me – but it does. As soon as I finish one book, I am anxiously awaiting the next. The characters are all as quirky and twisted as the tales they tell, but, somehow, they all just fit together and, in the end, the crime is solved.

Kathleen Doyle has just returned to limited duty after maternity leave when she catches a case with Munoz who is up for promotion. Once upon a time, it would have rankled to work under Munoz’s direction – and she would have hated the idea of Munoz being promoted over her. Not now though, marriage and motherhood have mellowed Doyle and she is very happy to be just where she is.

The body is in an area of town filled with drug dealers and other unsavory characters. Doyle and Munoz aren’t particularly surprised to find a dead body in that area – but they are very surprised to learn that the body is a person who works at the MET. Oddly enough, there are no wounds on her body – so how did she die? The victim had been part of a huge scandal at the MET – could that have anything to do with her death? Is the scandal really completely wrapped up? Is something else afoot? Maybe some fallout from an earlier case? Since the autopsy can’t identify a cause of death, do they even have a murder?

While the investigation proceeds, there are lots of internal manipulations going on. Yes, Acton is the chess grandmaster and he has plans for all of those near and dear to him – and he has no problem with manipulating them into what he wants for them.

I enjoyed this story, but I believe it was more of a set-up for the next book because of the ‘hints’ that kept popping up. A sinister group from a previous book kept getting mentioned and the hints make me think they will be making a return appearance. While this book did have a murder to investigate, I think it focused more on the internal team relationships and manipulations and the ground-laying for one or more future books.

I can definitely recommend this book and I hope you will enjoy these fun, quirky, interesting characters as much as I do.

[Deborah Gebhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from this series. Although each mystery is a standalone, there may be references to previous books.
Doyle and Munoz have been assigned to a suspected homicide by Officer Gabriel. The officer on the scene buried the lead by not reporting that the body in question belongs to a Met employee, who worked the tip line. As they continue to investigate, they find the situation strange, she is in a part of town she shouldn't be in, she is still wearing her ID badge and most importantly they are unable to determine the cause of death. It appears to be an admonishment-murder, but the point of such a murder is to send a message, and in this case, it was unclear who was sending it, or even to whom it was being sent.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are interesting, and how their connections have developed over time make this latest in the series a good read. I am aware that my criticisms have, for the series, included a plea for better editing. In this volume, there were four errors that a capable editor would have noted and changed. As far as the plot is concerned, it holds up fairly well, as some relationships are tidied up and others are deliberately used to inspire a desire for more answers. Kathleen Doyle sounds more preachy in this episode; a bit more RC than I have noted in the past, and one might be forgiven if finding that Savoie has moved closer to model citizenship.

[DemetraP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am confused by the ending. I have no idea who the murderer was.

Spoilers.
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Savoie and Mary get married. They are happy. Acton arranged a dinner party to celebrate so he could get Gabriel to ask out Callie. And to use Savoie's brother to make Lizzie's husband Williams jealous.

Gabriel is still in love with Munoz. He was upset she married so quickly. So he has been sneaking a birth control potion into Munoz without her knowledge. He doesn't want Munoz to have a baby with her husband. He was hoping she would end up with him, Gabriel.

Lizzie is sad that Williams doesn't love her so she gave him a love potion from the evidence locker.

[Elizabeth Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this author. She works in genres (mystery and romance) where it is easy to fall into standard tropes (judging by the majority of other authors I have read). She avoids this with solid writing.
This is another excursion into the marvelously twisted world of Acton/Doyle.
I must confess, however, that I found this story a bit harder to follow in some of its details.
The source of the italic notations before many chapters usually becomes evident later in the story. I was still puzzling at the end.
None the less, an enjoyable read.

[Lilly Hi Way · Rating 5 out of 5]

More on Police Misbehavior

This Doyle & Acton Mystery follows up on the previous books in the series with Acton trying to resolve criminal events and behavior while keeping his actions hidden from Doyle. Meanwhile she's trying to figure what's up so that she can keep Acton on the straight and narrow path. I strongly recommend that readers begin with Book 1 in this series and then read all the subsequent books before reading this one. Otherwise you'll have trouble following it and are unlikely to enjoy it.

[Megan Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. Let me just say that. Every 'murder' is a different 'kind' of murder and this is no different. Munoz and Doyle are called out to investigate a dead body in a sketchy part of London and can find no obvious signs if of death but plenty of 'strangeness' to the death. While Munoz is in charge and sure she is up for promotion, Doyle is receiving 'signals' that are leading her in different directions. Is her husband involved? Are women after him? Does she want to promote or is she happy where she is and what about her friends?

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have followed this series since the very beginning. It is very addicting. Includes police procedures and villains to chase and a fascinating love story. I have to 'ration' the amount I read each day to make the book last as long as possible. Sincerely hope Anne Cleveland continues this series for a LONG time.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been concerned that these books were becoming too intertwined with previous books, plot wise. That I would need to reread all the books each ti:e a new one was written. But this one, while still having some call backs to previous books, stands more on its own.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these characters and series! Always a delight to continue their adventures. Especially Acton and Doyle. I’ll try to wait patiently for the next book.

[carol j. britvec · Rating 3 out of 5]

EDIT PLEASE

It is nice to have reminders of previous story lines. However. We don't have to have a recap of every single major story arc.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series.

[HatGirl8]

3/14/2023

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

More please !
Love Acton and Doyle

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less dead bodies this time and the story kind of a bit different too, and I love it!

❤️❤️❤️

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars Enjoy this series

[Shannon C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book. I’m pleasantly surprised since the last three weren’t my favorites.

[Laurie Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always like a Doyle and Acton mystery, however, not my favorite.

[Shardlake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Acton & Doyle series!