Deceived by Self

by William Mitchell Ross

The death of an elderly woman in the sleepy little town of Monroe, Wisconsin, was recorded on the death certificate as heart failure. But the womans best friend, Ada Klausner, thinks otherwise. She wants an autopsy performed to verify the cause of death. Her persistence raises a question about another suspicious death attributed to heart failure. Because of her reputation as an eccentric personality, Adas concerns go unanswered.Detective Samantha Gates has recently been transferred to the Monroe Police Department as a second chance. She was involved in an incident at the Silver Bay Police Department that resulted in the suicide of a fellow officer. As she comes to terms with the guilt of that incident, Gates is contacted by Ada, who gives her a compelling argument for investigating the death of her friend.At the same time, the Monroe Police and Fire Commission chairman, Roger Nussbaum, is vying for an appointment to the governors newly formed Crime Commission. He has contacted Police Chief Brandon Johns to make sure that no scandal surfaces to hurt his chances. He has touted the low crime statistics in Monroe as the cornerstone of his bid for the appointment.When Gates approaches the chief with her intention to follow up on Adas suspicions, the chief is caught in a dilemma. Does he allow her to proceed with her investigation that could confirm that a murder was committed and probably scuttle the political aspirations of Mr. Nussbaum?

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 8, 2011

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was looking forward to reading a local author/ local setting book. While the storyline was appealing, the writing was poor.

My notes:
*Jumbled trains of thought
*Too many asides
*Repetitive words/ phrases in single sentences & paragraphs
*Poor editing
*Intro morphed into Chapter 1
*None of the characters used contractions while speaking
*Too many exclamation points!

[Joe Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book; it's a murder mystery set in Monroe Wisconsin. As a frequent visitor to Monroe, I enjoyed the setting quite a bit. I don't want to get into any spoilers, but the reader does know who the murderer is for most of the book. However, I found it interesting to follow Detective Samantha Gates as she tries to put all of the pieces together.

The way the novel is structured is a little distracting at first: there are lots of short chapters and each chapter may be told from a different character's perspective. This kind of narrative has advantages and disadvantages for me at least. It can be hard to get into the "flow" of the mystery, but on the other hand it's easy to put the book down for a while and pick it up again without any loss in continuity.

It's an enjoyable read and I recommend it.