The Perfect Suspect

Catherine McLeod #2

by Margaret Coel

David Mathews, the wildly popular candidate expected to win the Colorado governor’s seat, has been murdered. His death has made headlines across the nation and Denver’s police are scrambling to solve the high-profile case. Mathews’s estranged wife Sydney had motive—her husband’s infidelities—and when the gun used to kill him is discovered in the couple’s mountain home, Sydney is arrested and charged with first-degree homicide. Catherine McLeod is covering the story for The Denver Journal and receives a call from an anonymous woman claiming she saw the real killer leave the scene of the crime but is afraid to confide in the police. To uncover the truth, Catherine must risk her career—and her life—to find the witness who can identify Mathews’s Detective Ryan Beckman.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Native American, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Murder Mystery

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 6, 2011

About the author

Margaret Coel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the acclaimed novels featuring Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden, as well as several works of nonfiction. Originally a historian by trade, she is considered an expert on the Arapaho Indians.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine McLeod is a reporter for a Denver News Paper and she gets drawn into the investigation of the murder of a politician running for Governor when she receives and anonymous phone call form a woman claiming to have seen a woman leaving the candidate’s house just after the time on the shooting. The case gets more complicated when the woman leaving the house is identified as the detective in charge of the investigation. Another death of a possible witness and with her own life in danger, Catherine continues to search for answers while trying to protect the lives of other potential witnesses. While Catherine is part Arapahoe there is not much Indian culture interwoven in this book, but was a decent read

[Viccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Mathews had it all; he was married to a beautiful, rich woman and he was going to be elected governor of Colorado. The only catch? He ends up murdered because he had an affair with the wrong person and then tried to end it. And the killer has gotten away with before. Catherine MacLeod is an investigative reporter and she has heard rumors about those affairs. She ends up in the crosshairs of the murderer. Good pacing.

[Diana Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, but like her other series books better.

[M.E. Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Coel is my newest favorite author. I could not put this book down. I love her investigative journalist, Catherine McLeod. The story is fascinating, switching between the point of views of the protagonist and antagonist. Very clever. She develops her characters well and has vivid descriptions. I probably should have read the first Catherine McLeod mystery, "Blood Memory" first, but having them reversed will not deter me from enjoying reading "Blood Memory" now. I highly recommend these two books. Will next start her first River Reservation Mysteries.

[Laura Poppenwimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book in in the series and not nearly as interesting as the first on, in fact somewhat hard to get through. Catherine McLeod found that she was part Arapahoe in the first novel and seemed to be important in how she connected to the problems surrounding her in locating the man trying to assassinate her. In this novel, she still thinks of her inner instinct but I found it a bit offensive and somewhat stereotypical that she seemed to need a drink when she was tense. I won't be reading any more books by this author and there seems to be only 2 in this series to day.

[Janet Balliet]

Catherine has been following & writing about David Mathews run for governor. When he is murdered, everyone is shocked! A frightened witness calls Catherine. She tries to follow leads on her own. Nick is upset with her. The killer is none other that Denver Det Ryan Beckman, the lead investigator! She kills a campaign worker who saw her with David, the escort service head & Kim, the frightened caller. She only has Catherine to get rid of now!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just another killing by a woman betrayed in love.
But what if the betrayer is a famous and wealthy charmer, ahead in the race for governor?
And what if the murder is the detective assigned to the case?
All this is up front, the joy is in seeing it all worked out.
An excellent work by an excellent author.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super read! I didn't much care for book 1 and wasn't going to continue with the series but I'm glad I did. I totally liked the twist of knowing who the killer was, how that character became more and more desperate to cover up the crime and how McLeod pursued her. I'm sad to know this series only had these two books because I would have enjoyed it continuing.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of annoyed that every time catherine knew something, beckman knew right away. like “ok so this guy saw them in aspen so i need to make sure he tells internal affairs and gets beckman off the case” and then the next chapter will be like “wait there’s that guy who saw me in aspen with mathews… better take care of that issue real quick” like damn zero tension in this book if every piece of evidence that leads to beckman’s arrest just gets erased immediately. boo

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique plot where the top detective investigating the murder is actually the murderer. As more people are killed who are connected to the original crime, reporter Catherine McLeod follows the clues and convinces her love interest, another detective, that there is definitely something not right with the lead detective. I didn't find this storyline as strong as other Coel mysteries but it was OK.

[Aniko Nagyne vig · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a thriller, as you know from the first chapter who is the killer. A fast paced hunt between two women, one completely unhinged, but in a powerful position. The ending continues with the moral question, what is self defense and what is predetermined murder, how thin the line can be between the two?

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can a killer eliminate all the witnesses to her first murder, do away with all the connections, and thus get way with it? This one thinks she can. (PS: This is not a spoiler. The reader learns who the perp is in the first chapter. The rest is suspense and intrigue.)

[Jo Lauter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Suspense without undue violence or sex. Strong and likable characters, well developed. Characters you’ll get attached to And want to follow. Margaret Coel is a favorite of mine,a grand writer and storyteller.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book, as I recall enjoying some of her Wind River series in the past.
The murders were predictable and not all necessary. The ending was abrupt and odd.
I enjoyed the main character's journey to find out about her Native American roots.

[Jane Chizmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer her stories on the Wind River Reservation. Enjoy her stories very much!

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good mystery book. I like that she gave the perspective of the suspect air time. the ending was a bit recycled from the first book in the series.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly entertaining read. I enjoyed the pursuit by the reporter Catherine McLeod!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great suspense and character development. Just hoping there will more to come in this series!

[chequita tarver · Rating 5 out of 5]

the perfect suspect is a great book you have to read it.

[Wendy Mantione · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like her other books better than this one.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coel’s books are good, but the endings never seem quite “right” and this one is no exception.

[Carolyn Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine McLeod mystery…good read!  Told from the beginning who the killer was…interesting twist!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly typical mystery with few surprises. Author gets the name of one of the characters wrong on page 183. Book was an OK distraction for a day.

[Leslie Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing … Uncompromising murderer, suspenseful writing, victims fear and stress around how to tell the truth and talk to the right people and not get hurt as well.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Matthews is the extremely popular candidate running for the Governor's seat in Colorado. Catherine McLeod has been covering his campaign. There are rumors of a few skeletons in his closet, affairs and some shady business deals but nothing that can be really substantiated. No one is more shocked than Catherine when news spreads that the candidate has been murdered in his home.

Police are scrambling to solve this high profile case as quickly as possible. His wife has motive with all his affairs and the murder weapon is even found in her house. But Catherine receives an anonymous phone call from someone who tells her they witnessed the killer leaving the scene of the crime and it was not his wife. Catherine puts her career and her life on the line to find the witness who can identify the killer.

My Thoughts:
The first reason I loved this book was that while it is being released three years after the last book the book picks up only about a year later. Catherine's romance has progressed but not by much, she is still learning more and more about her heritage and the mystery is top notch.

We know who the killer is from the beginning and we watch them react to everything happening as Catherine gets closer to the truth. Catherine is a tough heroine but we also get to see her softer side. She great in the moment of drama but is very human as she lets down her walls as she deals situations beyond her control.

The writer also writes in almost a poetic way when she describes the scenes in the book from things as simple as a sunrise to the places she travels while running down clues.

I am glad I made the effort to read this author's work. She is an outstanding storyteller. Catherine's ancestors would be very proud at how well she tells a story. I am going to have find a way to work into my reading schedule the Wind River Mysteries. I think I am missing out on some wonderful books.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Matthews seems to be a shoe in to become the next governor of Colorado, while he portrays a loving husband with a squeaky clean image that isn't really who he is. Instead he has been carrying on affairs for years and the latest person who he is entangled with is Detective Ryan Beckman, but when he tries to break it off with her, she won't give up and murders him. As luck would have it she is assigned as the chief detective in the murder case and decides that she will frame David's wife. There is only one problem with her plan, someone saw her commit the crime, and they have made an anonymous call to Catherine McLeod an investigative reporter who had been doggedly covering Matthews political campaign and now the murder. Will the detective be able to get away with murder, or will Catherine be able to expose a crooked cop before the crooked cop silences her?
What an interesting plot, and the thing that made it totally different was the fact that I knew from the beginning who the killer was but still it was a real page turner as we watched Detective Beckman slowly start to crack under the pressure of trying to cover her tracks. I thought the character of Catherine McLeod was quite believable, its easy to see that she struggles with what happened to her in the past, and the relationship that she is slowly building with Nick Bustamante seems quite promising. I also love that her dog Rex is often mentioned in the story.
While this is the second book in the Catherine McLeod Mystery series it can easily be read as a stand alone work. I haven't read the first book and easily followed this story, although I have already purchased the first book in the series titled "Blood Memory," because this author's writing style has totally hooked me and makes me want to read more of her work! If your a fan of fast paced thrillers that will keep you intrigued until the final page then your going to love this one!

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine McLeod proved to be a very intrepid journalist. She wasn't just looking for sensational news stories but the truth. She also had a great deal of empathy for the victims. Detective Beckman was a loose cannon. She was insecure about her lowly beginnings yet proud of her police career as she saw it. She's a morally flawed individual though and her emotional makeup got the better of her good sense. The scary part of this made me see how easily someone in law enforcement could frame another person.

Although billed as a mystery, it has some of the characteristics of a police procedural and all the characteristics of the suspense format. In a procedural or suspense novel, unlike a traditional mystery, the reader knows the victim and the murderer right from the get-go. (One reason I included the publisher's synopsis) The ensuing plot is how the investigation proceeds and how or even if the killer gets caught and what tripped them up.

In a well written one, such as this, the reader is immersed in the mental and emotional cat-and-mouse game being played out between investigator(s) and killer. Coel approached this with the investigator being a civilian, so to speak. We, as readers, don't get too much insight into the actual investigation other than what part Detective Ryan plays in it. It's doubly interesting seeing that she is also the killer! However you want to define it, The Perfect Suspect is the perfect read.

I've never read Coel before but I am so glad I agreed to review this one. Wow, what a great story this turned out to be. Excellent plot, superbly paced and with in-depth characterizations. I really liked the way Coel lets the reader into the killer's head and then switches to the action. And non-stop action it is; a thrill ride all the way! I read it in two sittings and did not want to put it down.

[Mark Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Perfect Suspect” is a clean, quick-moving thriller. Yes, we know who did it before our credit card is swiped at the check-out stand. Ryan Beckman is a female Denver detective with a dicey set of personal problems, including having shot and killed her boyfriend, an up and coming politician. Denver investigative reporter Catherine McLeod fights to be heard among her fellow investigators, avoids danger, sees through a frame job. As the conniving Beckman notes, McLeod is “edgy and distrustful.” She operates “on instincts that defied logic.” She is one of those “intuitive types.”

McLeod leans on all her intuition, follows every instinct. If there’s a category called “thriller cozy,” this might be it. There are deaths but Coel doesn’t linger over the blood and guts. She’s more interested in what McLeod is thinking, how she processes information. You don’t get Coel’s trademark doses of American Indian history and culture here (as you do in her Wind River mystery series). Even as McLeod analyzes, “The Perfect Suspect” is 90 percent breezy plot. Events crank along at a nifty clip. This isn’t cat-and-mouse, it’s cat-and-cat. As the pages turn down to a precious few left, we still have no idea if McLeod will come up empty-handed. At the end, the snarls turn wicked, claws out. Right down to the last.

[Bruce Snell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Two in the Catherine McLeod series by Margaret Coel - 3.5 stars. The Candidate for governor of the state of Colorado has been murdered - and the cop assigned to investigate the murder is his mistress - the murderer. (No spoiler there - that is all in the first chapter of the book.) The only mystery here is if Catherine McLeod (investigative reported for the Denver paper) can identify the only witness in time to solve the case and save her life.

The story is told from both the point of view of Catherine and of the murderer - Detective Ryan Beckman - as each describes her (competing) part in the investigation. Along the way at least two more people are murdered, and Catherine is attacked twice before Detective Beckman can be apprehended.

Although I liked this book, it is not up to the standards of Ms Coel's Wind River series - and may not be up to the standard of the first Catherine McLeod story. I enjoyed the device of identifying the killer and then telling half the story from her point of view, but alone that was not enough to carry the story. And the inclusion of McLeod's Indian heritage felt contrived as it had no real part in moving the story forward.

It is possible that people who have not read the Wind River books would like this one more than I did, after all, it is a well told story, but it is not up to Coel's best.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 4 out of 5]

When she wrote “Blood Memory,” featuring reporter Catherine McLeod, Margaret Coel meant it to be a stand-alone novel. Well, she waited three years before that changed, and now we have what appears to be a series.

The plot of this entry is pretty straightforward, including politics, unfaithfulness, unrequited love and, of course, Catherine’s doggedness in following the story. From the beginning, the reader knows who murdered the handsome, charming, adulterous gubernatorial candidate, a beautiful blonde police detective he spurned after a torrid affair, following which she attempts to remove witnesses to the murder (while Catherine attempts to find them).

The Catherine McLeod novels lack the charm and detail of the Wind River Reservation mysteries. They are, of course, being Margaret Coel novels, well-written and tightly constructed. But somehow “Suspect” remains somewhat predictable. Nevertheless it is a good read, and is recommended.