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The Detective J.D. Welch #2
Murder for Comfort
Our detective has been paged out to look into the disappearance of Sheila McCowell, a wealthy divorced mother of two daughters. When two picnickers discover her horribly beaten dead body, the missing person complaint becomes a front-page homicide investigation. Welch has just one lead from an astonishingly clean crime scene - a cryptic sexually charged email from someone whose existence has been a closely guarded secret. The pressure is on Welch to find the killer. Written with the technical authenticity of an experienced law-enforcement officer's background, there's violence, romance, intrigue, conspiracy, and a plot filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up to the end.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 14, 2011
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52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 16, 2012
This is another in the series of Detective JD Welch novels.
Detective JD Welch is a veteran cop but the murder of Sheila McCowell is of a ferocity unparalleled in his career and experience and without any clues he's going nowhere fast in solving it. The husband is always the first suspect but Jim McCowell, the ex, looks clean. Welch needs a break but will he get one? Then two more murders occur and very quickly all three seem to be linked. Adding to his late night dreams about the case is his attraction to one very lovely lady, who may or may not be involved.
One of the themes to the story is how the male of the species can be coerced by sex. Does Welch fall into that trap?
The story line is a good one. It develops well with the murders being suitably gruesome and/or shocking and the investigation at times stalling and then forging ahead.
The main characters are drawn well, the language flows and the dialogue is natural, although the scenes towards the end of the book where Welch meets some New Zealand police and is introduced to 'Strine' jar slightly. Do NZers use Strine? Plus I'm puzzled as to why the Australian authorities are approached for extradition of a suspect from New Zealand. But I don't have expertise in that area and that may be the case.
The first few chapters are tightly written and move at a cracking pace. It's when the novel comes to detailing police procedure that it slows somewhat. The author served for many years in law enforcement and it shows, for instance, in the level of knowledge of 'police speak' and how investigations and interviews are conducted. Perhaps some of the detail could have been forfeited for the sake of maintaining pace.
Plus, the author has strong views about Islam, as evidenced in his most recent JD Welch novel, Summons to Perdition (a terrific if unsettling read) and they creep into this book. I think the story would be better without that distraction.
But minor criticisms aside this is a well-written good read.
Detective JD Welch is a veteran cop but the murder of Sheila McCowell is of a ferocity unparalleled in his career and experience and without any clues he's going nowhere fast in solving it. The husband is always the first suspect but Jim McCowell, the ex, looks clean. Welch needs a break but will he get one? Then two more murders occur and very quickly all three seem to be linked. Adding to his late night dreams about the case is his attraction to one very lovely lady, who may or may not be involved.
One of the themes to the story is how the male of the species can be coerced by sex. Does Welch fall into that trap?
The story line is a good one. It develops well with the murders being suitably gruesome and/or shocking and the investigation at times stalling and then forging ahead.
The main characters are drawn well, the language flows and the dialogue is natural, although the scenes towards the end of the book where Welch meets some New Zealand police and is introduced to 'Strine' jar slightly. Do NZers use Strine? Plus I'm puzzled as to why the Australian authorities are approached for extradition of a suspect from New Zealand. But I don't have expertise in that area and that may be the case.
The first few chapters are tightly written and move at a cracking pace. It's when the novel comes to detailing police procedure that it slows somewhat. The author served for many years in law enforcement and it shows, for instance, in the level of knowledge of 'police speak' and how investigations and interviews are conducted. Perhaps some of the detail could have been forfeited for the sake of maintaining pace.
Plus, the author has strong views about Islam, as evidenced in his most recent JD Welch novel, Summons to Perdition (a terrific if unsettling read) and they creep into this book. I think the story would be better without that distraction.
But minor criticisms aside this is a well-written good read.
November 14, 2017
Good story.
But the New Zealand references!! Omg! Nowhere in New Zealand would you go out to a restaurant and have a ‘ground beef’ (which we call mince) pie!
And no one calls women Sheilas!
I was confused why the story talked about the Australian govt having anything to do with NZ law. The 2 countries are quite separate!
And I guessed the ending.
So while I did enjoy it the NZ references were uncomfortable for me to read. So wrong.
But the New Zealand references!! Omg! Nowhere in New Zealand would you go out to a restaurant and have a ‘ground beef’ (which we call mince) pie!
And no one calls women Sheilas!
I was confused why the story talked about the Australian govt having anything to do with NZ law. The 2 countries are quite separate!
And I guessed the ending.
So while I did enjoy it the NZ references were uncomfortable for me to read. So wrong.
December 17, 2011
The title belies the content in this enthralling story by John Work. There are no heavy sex scenes in this novel, no banter between characters, or romantic attachments in the traditional sense. This is pure police work making for a refreshing change - but at the same time, sex, lies, greed and gruesome murder abounds!
The twists and turns in the plot make for a great read and a feeling of repulsion over the pitiless machinations of the murderers. The pace of the investigation is fast and the reading easy.
I was pretty sure of the name of the last person in the triangular plot and I was right, but the author makes the reader work hard for that knowledge. I never spoil the plot for other readers, but I can assure anyone who buys this novel that they are in for a darned good yarn. Murder for Comfort is written as an account of a police investigation, in the fist POV of John Wlch, the detective in charge of the case. The twists and turns had me rivetted to my kindle, unable to let go until the final page.
John Work's previous novel in this series, Dark Obsession Times 2, I purchased yesterday and am anxious to get stuck into it!
The twists and turns in the plot make for a great read and a feeling of repulsion over the pitiless machinations of the murderers. The pace of the investigation is fast and the reading easy.
I was pretty sure of the name of the last person in the triangular plot and I was right, but the author makes the reader work hard for that knowledge. I never spoil the plot for other readers, but I can assure anyone who buys this novel that they are in for a darned good yarn. Murder for Comfort is written as an account of a police investigation, in the fist POV of John Wlch, the detective in charge of the case. The twists and turns had me rivetted to my kindle, unable to let go until the final page.
John Work's previous novel in this series, Dark Obsession Times 2, I purchased yesterday and am anxious to get stuck into it!
September 3, 2012
Enjoyed this book. I assume it was fiction but there must have been alot of research done to include all of the factual statments included. I had figured out the end of the book as I neared the end, but hoped I was wrong. I wasn't.
March 12, 2015
Not a true story but as good as one
So many twists and turns in this book I didn't guess the ending until the very end. Can't wait to read more in this,series.This is a very good author.
So many twists and turns in this book I didn't guess the ending until the very end. Can't wait to read more in this,series.This is a very good author.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews