What do you think?
Rate this book
Sandra Mahoney #4
The Fourth Season
When the body of young female environmental activist and science student, Laila Fanshaw, is found floating in Lake Burley Griffin, private investigator Sandra Mahoney's life is turned upside down, not least because her partner, Ivan, was in love with Laila. Ivan is a suspect and has no alibi for the time of death.
A further strain is put on the relationship when another suspect, who worked in the Federal Environment Department, wants to hire Sandra to help him clear his name.
Sandra has to weigh up her desire to learn the truth against her children's needs. Only six-year-old Katya is Ivan's natural child; adolescent Peter has a different father. But both children are deeply affected by Laila's death and Ivan's reaction to it. Added to this, Sandra's friend in the Federal Police, Detective Sergeant Brook, is absolutely against her involvement in the case.
It takes all of Sandra's ingenuity and courage to steer herself, and her family, through the dangers that lead to an eventual unmasking of the truth.
A further strain is put on the relationship when another suspect, who worked in the Federal Environment Department, wants to hire Sandra to help him clear his name.
Sandra has to weigh up her desire to learn the truth against her children's needs. Only six-year-old Katya is Ivan's natural child; adolescent Peter has a different father. But both children are deeply affected by Laila's death and Ivan's reaction to it. Added to this, Sandra's friend in the Federal Police, Detective Sergeant Brook, is absolutely against her involvement in the case.
It takes all of Sandra's ingenuity and courage to steer herself, and her family, through the dangers that lead to an eventual unmasking of the truth.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 20, 2013
10 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Johnston
25 books12 followersDorothy Johnston is the author of eleven novels. Her tenth, and the first in a new sea-change mystery series, was published in April 2016. It is titled Through a Camel's Eye. Dorothy has published a quartet of detective novels set in Canberra. The first of these, The Trojan Dog, was joint winner ACT Book of the Year, and the Age gave it their ‘Best of 2000’ in the crime section. It was published in Australia by Wakefield Press and in the United States by St Martin’s Press. The second, The White Tower, was also published in Australia and North America, and the third, Eden, appeared in 2007. All three feature the cyber-sleuth Sandra Mahoney and her partner, Ivan Semyonov, along with Detective Sergeant Brook, of the ACT police. With Eden, Dorothy returned to the subject of prostitution, which has long interested her and provided inspiration. Her first novel, Tunnel Vision, is set in a Melbourne massage parlour. The House at Number 10 (Wakefield Press 2005) continues this theme. Two of her other literary novels, One for the Master and Ruth, have been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award. She has had numerous short stories published in magazines and anthologies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 3, 2014
Diane Donovan, MBR Bookwatch, March 2014
'The Fourth Season, a Sandra Mahoney mystery, represents the fourth book in Dorothy Johnston's mystery quartet, beginning with The Trojan Dog, then The White Tower and Eden. (The other books have not been seen by this reviewer).
It opens with a compelling first-person reflection: "The story I'm about to tell begins and ends by water....(sic) Over time, the two deaths ran together in my mind and I came to think of them as the water murders. The name conjures up an image of fluidity; but could as well suggest stagnation; or the leaching away of what is held to be precious by those most in need of it. I don't mean life itself - that absolute division - or not only that. I mean that which gives each individual life its meaning."
Through this introduction readers receive fair warning that this mystery is anything but formula writing: it blends in philosophy and life associations and thus its plot incorporates far deeper significance than your usual 'whodunnit' focus on methods and perps alone.
Sandra Mahoney is a private investigator (of course) who finds personal meaning in the discovery of a floating body: a body which was once her partner's lover, making Ivan an immediate suspect, with no alibi.
To complicate matters further, she's investigating a second murder AND juggling the needs of two children also affected by Laila's death: a six-year-old and an adolescent. There's a lot of emotional reaction on all sides; and all this overshadows and complicates what is already a challenging investigation, blending personal into professional concerns and creating more than a series of conundrums for Sandra.
Dorothy Johnston should be commended, first of all, for using the first person as a vehicle for presenting all these emotions. It brings out inner feelings without the distance of using the third person and it adds fire and passion to her story: "What does it mean to be told too little? What does this particular lack mean to an adolescent boy, or to his mother, who happens to be a person endeavouring to make her living by collecting information? It was an endeavour that, for years up until that moment, had sustained, if only just, both my life and that of my children - sustained in a thousand practical, easily overlooked ways."
Dorothy Johnston is equally powerful at displaying her investigator protagonist's emotions throughout the course of events: another strength that separates The Fourth Season from your typical murder mystery: "I wanted to come face to face with that killer now. What man or woman, known to me perhaps, had that degree of nerve? Was it possible to deduce this from the outside? My experience told me no, of course it wasn't. Did other people look at me and ask themselves: could she? Would she? I asked myself then: what are you capable of, if sufficiently pushed? I didn't know the answer. I hoped it wasn't murder. I hoped I knew myself well enough for that."
As events unfold and add layers of complexity to Sandra Mahoney's life, they successfully engross readers in not just a singular murder investigation, but a unified survey of everyone emotionally shaken by death. It's this approach that makes The Fourth Season a powerfully different story, highly recommended for any who seek more complexity in their murder reading.
Oh, and if you think you need previous background from the other books in the quartet, be advised: this stands well on its own. Also be advised: once you read The Fourth Season you most likely WILL want to pick up the others to see what you missed!'
'The Fourth Season, a Sandra Mahoney mystery, represents the fourth book in Dorothy Johnston's mystery quartet, beginning with The Trojan Dog, then The White Tower and Eden. (The other books have not been seen by this reviewer).
It opens with a compelling first-person reflection: "The story I'm about to tell begins and ends by water....(sic) Over time, the two deaths ran together in my mind and I came to think of them as the water murders. The name conjures up an image of fluidity; but could as well suggest stagnation; or the leaching away of what is held to be precious by those most in need of it. I don't mean life itself - that absolute division - or not only that. I mean that which gives each individual life its meaning."
Through this introduction readers receive fair warning that this mystery is anything but formula writing: it blends in philosophy and life associations and thus its plot incorporates far deeper significance than your usual 'whodunnit' focus on methods and perps alone.
Sandra Mahoney is a private investigator (of course) who finds personal meaning in the discovery of a floating body: a body which was once her partner's lover, making Ivan an immediate suspect, with no alibi.
To complicate matters further, she's investigating a second murder AND juggling the needs of two children also affected by Laila's death: a six-year-old and an adolescent. There's a lot of emotional reaction on all sides; and all this overshadows and complicates what is already a challenging investigation, blending personal into professional concerns and creating more than a series of conundrums for Sandra.
Dorothy Johnston should be commended, first of all, for using the first person as a vehicle for presenting all these emotions. It brings out inner feelings without the distance of using the third person and it adds fire and passion to her story: "What does it mean to be told too little? What does this particular lack mean to an adolescent boy, or to his mother, who happens to be a person endeavouring to make her living by collecting information? It was an endeavour that, for years up until that moment, had sustained, if only just, both my life and that of my children - sustained in a thousand practical, easily overlooked ways."
Dorothy Johnston is equally powerful at displaying her investigator protagonist's emotions throughout the course of events: another strength that separates The Fourth Season from your typical murder mystery: "I wanted to come face to face with that killer now. What man or woman, known to me perhaps, had that degree of nerve? Was it possible to deduce this from the outside? My experience told me no, of course it wasn't. Did other people look at me and ask themselves: could she? Would she? I asked myself then: what are you capable of, if sufficiently pushed? I didn't know the answer. I hoped it wasn't murder. I hoped I knew myself well enough for that."
As events unfold and add layers of complexity to Sandra Mahoney's life, they successfully engross readers in not just a singular murder investigation, but a unified survey of everyone emotionally shaken by death. It's this approach that makes The Fourth Season a powerfully different story, highly recommended for any who seek more complexity in their murder reading.
Oh, and if you think you need previous background from the other books in the quartet, be advised: this stands well on its own. Also be advised: once you read The Fourth Season you most likely WILL want to pick up the others to see what you missed!'
January 17, 2014
I just finished reading Dorothy Johnston’s fourth novel in her “Mystery Quartet” The Fourth Season and I almost couldn’t put it down. And it's accumulating 5 star reviews on Amazon. I haven’t read the three earlier novels in the series, The Trojan Dog, The White Tower and Eden but I can see why they were so well-received and they are now right at the top of my ‘to-read’ list. They are all published by Wakefield Press in Australia. Crime mysteries have been one of my favourites for I don’t know how long and I’m still entranced by Agatha Christie’s tales and the world of Hercule Poirot, just as I was with the unapologetically introspective and sometimes perilous journey of cyber-sleuth Sandra Mahoney as she seeks to unravel two murders of far from innocent young people caught up in the slimy world of gangland crime and vicious environmental politics. It’s a mystery that keeps the reader deeply engaged and completely in the dark about who committed these terrible crimes and why, while our cyber-sleuth, who’s been drawn into the investigation by her fickle partner, Ivan’s infatuation with the beautiful young victim of the first murder, intrepidly works her way towards an unexpected solution ... and with not that much assistance from her ailing old police buddy, DS Brook, before he allows himself an early retirement. The characters are wholly believable and compelling as is the parallel plot of Mahoney’s difficult home life with her children and grieving, mildly annoying partner and father of her second child; the child who herself becomes a pawn in the final unravelling of the mystery. The unusual setting in conservative Canberra, Australia’s capital city, and the wild waters of Bass Strait adds an exotic note as readers in other countries may well not be familiar with those part of the world. The author’s narrative style lends itself to the edgy uncertainty inherent in the reporting of a police and murder mystery though some readers may find it a little unexpected to begin with. The investigation unravels with twists and turns worthy of an Agatha Christie tale and keeps the reader guessing. Perhaps the drama of the final capture of the main villain might have permitted the author a brief departure from her conscious narrative style and resort to a first-hand blow-by-blow account, but that might not be to most readers’ taste and is little more than an instant in this totally absorbing, fast-paced and tightly written crime mystery by this talented Australian author.
September 29, 2014
Sandra Mahoney is an intriguing, highly individual central character. Readers of ‘The Fourth Season’ will want to know more about her, and if they read the other books in the series, as I have, there are other pleasures to discover. Dorothy Johnston writes beautifully about a city in all its changing seasons (each novel is set in a different season, and the charms and stresses of each season operate as a symbol for the characters’ emotional lives as well) and each novel takes on big questions – the environment, computer fraud, virtual reality, political corruption, sexual politics, labour relations. These are books for readers who don’t just want a quick fix from crime novels, but like to be left thinking and feeling their mindscape has somehow changed. Highly recommended.
October 18, 2014
I understand that this is the fourth in a series of Sandra Mahoney mysteries but it stands alone with reasonable success.
A woman is killed and Sandra is hired to investigate by a man who is a suspect in the killing. But Sandra’s approach is not an objective one as her partner – both business and personal – had been in love with the dead woman and is also therefore implicated in her death.
There are a number of flaws I would like to highlight. Firstly, from the beginning, Sandra’s investigation is hampered by the fact that she is not in the police and therefore has no weight of authority to get to the truth. Witnesses are therefore allowed to be evasive and unhelpful and in some cases tell outright lies which Sandra is powerless to expose. Having no access to forensics or official statements, and also suspected of being in collusion with the murderer, she is hamstrung from the start, with no means of corroborating anything. All of her enquiries eventually come down to her gut instinct and the leaps of supposition she makes based upon it. Of hard evidence there is virtually none. A man glimpsed in the shadows; a car, perhaps green, seen picking up the victim, an appointment with a Senator whose purpose is never established – it’s all circumstantial and yet Sandra bases her enquiry around it. While she might see things in a clear light this cannot be said for the reader; I am afraid I felt mired almost from the get-go.
Secondly, Sandra interviews a plethora of witnesses, sometimes posing as the deceased cousin or suggesting that she is a reporter. I found the number of peripheral characters unwieldy, their relevance sometimes obscure, their significance to the case often tangential. Several waiters and waitresses at a gambling club, the owners of an internet café, dive shop proprietors, friends and neighbours of the deceased, employees in a Senator’s office. They made a sort of mish-mashed crowd in my head and I would have been hard-pressed to give a summary, at any given point, of who the main characters were and what information of significance they had contributed.
Thirdly, the case hinges on the devastating beauty of the victim, and her ability to string men along and use them as she wishes. The reader never sees the victim or gets a chance to gauge her charisma, a serious weakness. She is portrayed mainly as an environmentalist with laudable credentials but turns out to be not much more than a treasure-seeker.
Fourthly, the descriptive blurb for the books suggests heavily that oil exploration and fisheries will play an important role in the story. The reader expects the chain of involvement to reach into governmental departments and oil cartels, and is waiting expectantly for Sandra to make the connection, but this turns out to be wide of the mark and I, for one, felt cheated.
Finally, Ivan, Sandra’s partner, who had been infatuated with the dead woman, is allowed to mope and pace and nurse his grief. He is missing for long stretches of time. The confrontation between him and Sandra, which the situation – and indeed the novel – absolutely begs for, especially when Brook, Sandra’s old flame, reappears on the scene, does not materialise. What the hell had he been thinking of? Didn’t he have responsibilities here at home? What was it about their relationship which had caused him to seek romance elsewhere? But these questions are never addressed. This is a serious dramatic flaw. The things which are unsaid between them brood and fester throughout the novel, adding to its dark, weighted atmosphere, but they really do need to be allowed to explode at some point.
What I did like was the writer’s portrayal of the Mahoney household; teenaged, troubled Peter and little Katya, who is to become – inexplicably – embroiled in the murderer’s attempts to evade justice. Their daily routine, the provision of food and recreation and the children’s patience in the laden atmosphere of the home provided a welcome homely touch. I also liked Sandra's internal voice, her courage and resourcefulness, even if I couldn't follow her thought processes or feel I could rely on her reading of events.
The writing is densely packed and an all-pervading atmosphere of gloom makes for quite an intense, almost stodgy read, without much in the way of relief. This didn't bother me but some readers might find it burdensome. The weather varies from rain and wind to baking heat. As a portrayal of autumn it confused me mightily but perhaps that season manifests itself differently in Australia – I cannot tell. Certainly I did not feel that the weather, or the season, contributed sufficiently to the plot, the ambience or the tone of the novel to warrant its eponymous use.
A woman is killed and Sandra is hired to investigate by a man who is a suspect in the killing. But Sandra’s approach is not an objective one as her partner – both business and personal – had been in love with the dead woman and is also therefore implicated in her death.
There are a number of flaws I would like to highlight. Firstly, from the beginning, Sandra’s investigation is hampered by the fact that she is not in the police and therefore has no weight of authority to get to the truth. Witnesses are therefore allowed to be evasive and unhelpful and in some cases tell outright lies which Sandra is powerless to expose. Having no access to forensics or official statements, and also suspected of being in collusion with the murderer, she is hamstrung from the start, with no means of corroborating anything. All of her enquiries eventually come down to her gut instinct and the leaps of supposition she makes based upon it. Of hard evidence there is virtually none. A man glimpsed in the shadows; a car, perhaps green, seen picking up the victim, an appointment with a Senator whose purpose is never established – it’s all circumstantial and yet Sandra bases her enquiry around it. While she might see things in a clear light this cannot be said for the reader; I am afraid I felt mired almost from the get-go.
Secondly, Sandra interviews a plethora of witnesses, sometimes posing as the deceased cousin or suggesting that she is a reporter. I found the number of peripheral characters unwieldy, their relevance sometimes obscure, their significance to the case often tangential. Several waiters and waitresses at a gambling club, the owners of an internet café, dive shop proprietors, friends and neighbours of the deceased, employees in a Senator’s office. They made a sort of mish-mashed crowd in my head and I would have been hard-pressed to give a summary, at any given point, of who the main characters were and what information of significance they had contributed.
Thirdly, the case hinges on the devastating beauty of the victim, and her ability to string men along and use them as she wishes. The reader never sees the victim or gets a chance to gauge her charisma, a serious weakness. She is portrayed mainly as an environmentalist with laudable credentials but turns out to be not much more than a treasure-seeker.
Fourthly, the descriptive blurb for the books suggests heavily that oil exploration and fisheries will play an important role in the story. The reader expects the chain of involvement to reach into governmental departments and oil cartels, and is waiting expectantly for Sandra to make the connection, but this turns out to be wide of the mark and I, for one, felt cheated.
Finally, Ivan, Sandra’s partner, who had been infatuated with the dead woman, is allowed to mope and pace and nurse his grief. He is missing for long stretches of time. The confrontation between him and Sandra, which the situation – and indeed the novel – absolutely begs for, especially when Brook, Sandra’s old flame, reappears on the scene, does not materialise. What the hell had he been thinking of? Didn’t he have responsibilities here at home? What was it about their relationship which had caused him to seek romance elsewhere? But these questions are never addressed. This is a serious dramatic flaw. The things which are unsaid between them brood and fester throughout the novel, adding to its dark, weighted atmosphere, but they really do need to be allowed to explode at some point.
What I did like was the writer’s portrayal of the Mahoney household; teenaged, troubled Peter and little Katya, who is to become – inexplicably – embroiled in the murderer’s attempts to evade justice. Their daily routine, the provision of food and recreation and the children’s patience in the laden atmosphere of the home provided a welcome homely touch. I also liked Sandra's internal voice, her courage and resourcefulness, even if I couldn't follow her thought processes or feel I could rely on her reading of events.
The writing is densely packed and an all-pervading atmosphere of gloom makes for quite an intense, almost stodgy read, without much in the way of relief. This didn't bother me but some readers might find it burdensome. The weather varies from rain and wind to baking heat. As a portrayal of autumn it confused me mightily but perhaps that season manifests itself differently in Australia – I cannot tell. Certainly I did not feel that the weather, or the season, contributed sufficiently to the plot, the ambience or the tone of the novel to warrant its eponymous use.
September 11, 2014
The Fourth Season was assigned to me by The Review Board for a read and review. Upon having read the blurb and prior reviews of this story, I was looking forward to digging in. I was really excited about it, as it had some rave reviews, and being that it is in a genre that I enjoy, that made the anticipation double fold.
However, upon jumping in, I was unfortunately let down. While this story has all of the makings of a great book, I felt as though it was not achieved. In the following summary, I’ll share with you my opinion on the pros and cons of this book.
Let’s start with the pros:
1. The writing was fairly good; as in the spelling and grammar. There were very few mistakes, although some were present.
2. The introduction to the story–the initial hook–was alluring. Here is a snippet:
“The story I’m about to tell begins and ends by water. It concerns two murders, one following a short time after the other. The mornings after these murders were similar, with heavy dew on the brown grass, an appearance that seemed remarkable after a relentlessly dry summer.“
3. The presentation was clean and pretty. I enjoyed the sleek look.
Unfortunately, that was all I enjoyed about this book. It’s really sad to say that while I genuinely wanted to like it, I didn’t. The cons, in my perspective, far outweighed the pros. Here they are:
1. Maybe this is just a “me thing”, but I truly think that the first chapter should have been a prologue. It was far too short and to quick to give any real information. All it served was to establish a premise and did it so quickly that it barely gave the reader an idea of what was going on. I think that that’s the job of a prologue.
2. While typos were few they were present. Here are a couple of them:
Page 3, paragraph one. “Peter should have been in bed as well, but he had a swag of maths homework…” that should have been “math”. Singular, as opposed to plural.
Page 38, paragraph five. “Owen closed his eyes in order better to recall their features.” I believe it should have been “to better recall“.
3. There were also some sentences/phrases that didn’t make any sense to me. Here are one or two examples:
Page 37, paragraph 2. “When I told her the date and time, she stared at me and went pale behind her make-up.” This doesn’t make any sense to me, because if a person it wearing makeup, how can you tell if they’ve gone pale or not?
Page 31, paragraph 2. “Don said he wished, oh how he wished he’d run a red light, speeded down Northbourne Avenue, copped a parking ticket.” My problem with this phrase, for example, was that it should have been written in dialogue form as oppose to narrative.
That leads me to another one of my cons…
4. There was way too much narrative in this story, and not nearly enough dialogue.
5. Descriptive prose were very vague, at best. There was nothing that really told the reader what anything looked like. Here is a great example:
“I logged on to my provider’s website, checked my mail and sent off a few messages, at the same time glancing round the cafe, noting how many booths there were – twenty-three, packed close together. The cafe was in the middle of Civic, open long hours. It had to be staffed by more than one person.“
In all of those words, all I really got was that she was in a cafe and there were 23 seats. Like I said, pretty ambiguous.
6. The writing style is very bland and boring. There wasn’t anything really exciting or engaging about the writing style.
As the matter of fact, it was so unemotional that I kept falling asleep. It took me twice as long to read this book as it would’ve taken me otherwise, simply because it kept boring the life out of me.
7. Many times there was too much going on in one chapter. Too many people being involved into the mix. So much so that I kept confusing Ivan for Don and vise versa.
8. The characters in the book all seemed to have been written using the same template. There was nothing that helped my mind distinguish one character from another because they all sounded exactly they same.
9. Do to the fact that the writing was so unattached, I found myself having a very hard time connecting or identifying with the characters. By the end of the book, I really didn’t care too much about any of the characters, if I were to be completely honest.
10. It read more like a very long, drawn out drama instead of a suspense.
Long story short, as much as I wanted to like this book, I was very let down. I’m sorry.
However, upon jumping in, I was unfortunately let down. While this story has all of the makings of a great book, I felt as though it was not achieved. In the following summary, I’ll share with you my opinion on the pros and cons of this book.
Let’s start with the pros:
1. The writing was fairly good; as in the spelling and grammar. There were very few mistakes, although some were present.
2. The introduction to the story–the initial hook–was alluring. Here is a snippet:
“The story I’m about to tell begins and ends by water. It concerns two murders, one following a short time after the other. The mornings after these murders were similar, with heavy dew on the brown grass, an appearance that seemed remarkable after a relentlessly dry summer.“
3. The presentation was clean and pretty. I enjoyed the sleek look.
Unfortunately, that was all I enjoyed about this book. It’s really sad to say that while I genuinely wanted to like it, I didn’t. The cons, in my perspective, far outweighed the pros. Here they are:
1. Maybe this is just a “me thing”, but I truly think that the first chapter should have been a prologue. It was far too short and to quick to give any real information. All it served was to establish a premise and did it so quickly that it barely gave the reader an idea of what was going on. I think that that’s the job of a prologue.
2. While typos were few they were present. Here are a couple of them:
Page 3, paragraph one. “Peter should have been in bed as well, but he had a swag of maths homework…” that should have been “math”. Singular, as opposed to plural.
Page 38, paragraph five. “Owen closed his eyes in order better to recall their features.” I believe it should have been “to better recall“.
3. There were also some sentences/phrases that didn’t make any sense to me. Here are one or two examples:
Page 37, paragraph 2. “When I told her the date and time, she stared at me and went pale behind her make-up.” This doesn’t make any sense to me, because if a person it wearing makeup, how can you tell if they’ve gone pale or not?
Page 31, paragraph 2. “Don said he wished, oh how he wished he’d run a red light, speeded down Northbourne Avenue, copped a parking ticket.” My problem with this phrase, for example, was that it should have been written in dialogue form as oppose to narrative.
That leads me to another one of my cons…
4. There was way too much narrative in this story, and not nearly enough dialogue.
5. Descriptive prose were very vague, at best. There was nothing that really told the reader what anything looked like. Here is a great example:
“I logged on to my provider’s website, checked my mail and sent off a few messages, at the same time glancing round the cafe, noting how many booths there were – twenty-three, packed close together. The cafe was in the middle of Civic, open long hours. It had to be staffed by more than one person.“
In all of those words, all I really got was that she was in a cafe and there were 23 seats. Like I said, pretty ambiguous.
6. The writing style is very bland and boring. There wasn’t anything really exciting or engaging about the writing style.
As the matter of fact, it was so unemotional that I kept falling asleep. It took me twice as long to read this book as it would’ve taken me otherwise, simply because it kept boring the life out of me.
7. Many times there was too much going on in one chapter. Too many people being involved into the mix. So much so that I kept confusing Ivan for Don and vise versa.
8. The characters in the book all seemed to have been written using the same template. There was nothing that helped my mind distinguish one character from another because they all sounded exactly they same.
9. Do to the fact that the writing was so unattached, I found myself having a very hard time connecting or identifying with the characters. By the end of the book, I really didn’t care too much about any of the characters, if I were to be completely honest.
10. It read more like a very long, drawn out drama instead of a suspense.
Long story short, as much as I wanted to like this book, I was very let down. I’m sorry.
September 11, 2014
Note: I was given this in exchange for an honest review.
The best way to discuss my views on The Fourth Season is to divide it into pros and cons.
Pros
1. Setting appears well researched
2. Understanding of Sandra’s plight in relation to Ivan: It’s hard when you discover that your husband has all these feelings and desires for another woman. How can one put the personal feelings about that aside while objectively trying to solve the case?
3. Great job in the set up of the initial ambiance of Laila: The intensity of feelings that emerged from each person (particularly the men) in response to her death set the tone.
4. Lovely maturity and strength in the two children: At times, they acted more like adults than the actual adults in this work.
5. Sentences not overly long or too complex: The beauty in the sentences being in this way is that it cuts down on the possibility to excessive punctuation and misplaced modifiers. The writer recognized that less can be more and did terrifically with the balance.
6. Slight to no indicators of spelling errors or tense inconsistencies: The Fourth Season was pleasing to the eyes in terms of this.
The blurb and quite a few of the pros gave The Fourth Season potential to be a stirring read. However, there are some things which stagnated that achievement for me.
Cons
1. Case of the I-ganza: That is my way of saying too many I`s were being used. I don’t disagree with the use of first person to make the reader identify with the main character’s plight. However, the use of too many I’s, particularly in every sentence (with quite a few segments), makes it feel a bit sing song like. Restructuring of sentences will cut down on this.
2. Very narrative heavy: I would have prefer a bit more balance between dialogue and narrative. The dialogue that was provide seemed a bit disjointed and dry.
3. Didn’t have a chance to really connect with a lot of the characters: I wanted to gain more insight as to how interwoven they were with Laila as well as how certain people were individually, such as Sandra, Ivan and the children. Perhaps it was due to the fact that this is the fourth book in the series yet I was under the impression that it could stand alone. With that being said, I needed to know enough information so I didn’t feel like I was robbed of the chance to get to know the key characters.
4. Pace felt a little too slow for a mystery
5. Writing had all the components but feels disjointed-seems very “matter of fact”: What I mean by this is that I wanted to be shown the emotions, particularly of Sandra, Ivan and the children, rather than it being told or conveyed through dialogue.
6. Think the reader misses out on the chance to solve the mystery with Sandra: A lot of the mystery component was told to me rather than my going on the journey with Sandra.
7. Wanted more physical description of Laila along with the impact she had on so many people’s lives
8. None of the men fascinated with Laila seemed to have their own personalities; they seemed drafted out of the same obsessive hypersensitive mold .
9. The cover, although beautiful, does not quite match the inside content.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 Stars
As a reader, when partaking of a mystery, I like to be an active participant in unraveling the clues and for the discovery and conflict to guide me through each and every chapter. I love being shown rather than told. There was so much emphasis in the emotional dissimilation of the men in response to Laila`s death and the delicate shredding of the bond between Ivan and Sandra that it took center stage over the mystery component.
If you like a work where you don’t have to dig for the answers or more focused on the internal turmoil of the investigating parties themselves, The Fourth Season could work. For those who want more pro activity, this may not be the read for you.
The best way to discuss my views on The Fourth Season is to divide it into pros and cons.
Pros
1. Setting appears well researched
2. Understanding of Sandra’s plight in relation to Ivan: It’s hard when you discover that your husband has all these feelings and desires for another woman. How can one put the personal feelings about that aside while objectively trying to solve the case?
3. Great job in the set up of the initial ambiance of Laila: The intensity of feelings that emerged from each person (particularly the men) in response to her death set the tone.
4. Lovely maturity and strength in the two children: At times, they acted more like adults than the actual adults in this work.
5. Sentences not overly long or too complex: The beauty in the sentences being in this way is that it cuts down on the possibility to excessive punctuation and misplaced modifiers. The writer recognized that less can be more and did terrifically with the balance.
6. Slight to no indicators of spelling errors or tense inconsistencies: The Fourth Season was pleasing to the eyes in terms of this.
The blurb and quite a few of the pros gave The Fourth Season potential to be a stirring read. However, there are some things which stagnated that achievement for me.
Cons
1. Case of the I-ganza: That is my way of saying too many I`s were being used. I don’t disagree with the use of first person to make the reader identify with the main character’s plight. However, the use of too many I’s, particularly in every sentence (with quite a few segments), makes it feel a bit sing song like. Restructuring of sentences will cut down on this.
2. Very narrative heavy: I would have prefer a bit more balance between dialogue and narrative. The dialogue that was provide seemed a bit disjointed and dry.
3. Didn’t have a chance to really connect with a lot of the characters: I wanted to gain more insight as to how interwoven they were with Laila as well as how certain people were individually, such as Sandra, Ivan and the children. Perhaps it was due to the fact that this is the fourth book in the series yet I was under the impression that it could stand alone. With that being said, I needed to know enough information so I didn’t feel like I was robbed of the chance to get to know the key characters.
4. Pace felt a little too slow for a mystery
5. Writing had all the components but feels disjointed-seems very “matter of fact”: What I mean by this is that I wanted to be shown the emotions, particularly of Sandra, Ivan and the children, rather than it being told or conveyed through dialogue.
6. Think the reader misses out on the chance to solve the mystery with Sandra: A lot of the mystery component was told to me rather than my going on the journey with Sandra.
7. Wanted more physical description of Laila along with the impact she had on so many people’s lives
8. None of the men fascinated with Laila seemed to have their own personalities; they seemed drafted out of the same obsessive hypersensitive mold .
9. The cover, although beautiful, does not quite match the inside content.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 Stars
As a reader, when partaking of a mystery, I like to be an active participant in unraveling the clues and for the discovery and conflict to guide me through each and every chapter. I love being shown rather than told. There was so much emphasis in the emotional dissimilation of the men in response to Laila`s death and the delicate shredding of the bond between Ivan and Sandra that it took center stage over the mystery component.
If you like a work where you don’t have to dig for the answers or more focused on the internal turmoil of the investigating parties themselves, The Fourth Season could work. For those who want more pro activity, this may not be the read for you.
August 7, 2025
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include THE FOURTH SEASON (Sandra Mahoney #4) by DOROTHY JOHNSTON in the library of Awesome Indies'
Badge of Approval
recipients.
Original Awesome Indies' Assessment (5 stars):
The Fourth Season is the fourth and final book in a mystery quartet by Australian author Dorothy Johnston. (The others are The Trojan Dog, The White Tower, and Eden.) I read the book with the disadvantage of not having read the earlier ones, so I knew nothing about the protagonist, Sandra Mahoney. She lives a complicated life with two children, an ex-husband, a live-in partner, and a fraught friendship with a police detective. She also has a reputation as a cyber-security expert. Of course Sandra’s history comes to bear on events in The Fourth Season.
The story centers on two murders: a student killed and dumped in a lake and a scuba diver killed and dumped in a public swimming pool near Sandra’s house. Sandra takes an interest in the first murder because her partner, Ivan, was in love with the student, Laila Fanshaw. He becomes an immediate suspect. It doesn’t help that he turns uncommunicative and selfish, staying out all night and neglecting their young daughter, who adores him. Then a stranger, Don Fletcher, phones Sandra and offers her money to investigate the case. Also a suspect, he wants the real murderer caught. Sandra has qualms but needs the money. She takes the case.
She discovers Laila’s passionate interest in environmental causes – in particular protecting the waters around Australia from exploitation by oil companies – and the passion that her beauty and energy aroused in those who knew her. Ivan isn’t the only one who fell for Laila. Various suspects emerge, including a prominent politician. Sandra’s snooping results in her being followed. After the scuba diver’s body is found, a phone call to the police places her car near the swimming pool. It becomes more and more obvious that Sandra and her children could be in danger.
Johnston writes polished prose and constructs a solid plot with masterful pacing. The story held my interest even though Sandra’s investigation consists mostly of her talking with the various people involved, and some of the conversations end without her learning much of anything. The most action-packed scene that she instigates is sneaking into Laila’s house to steal evidence. Much of the story concerns Sandra’s relationships with her children, with Ivan, and with Detective Sergeant Brook. The complex lives of these characters are as compelling as the murder mystery.
Sandra’s first-person narrative shows her intelligence and perceptiveness. She reads people well and knows how to draw information from them. But the narrative point of view keeps her on the periphery of the action. Lacking authority and tied by domestic responsibility, Sandra can go only so far. She must depend on Brook for crucial information that he isn’t always willing to share. She has a vital stake in the outcome, but the story’s climactic event unfolds many miles away from her. All she can do is wring her hands and hope things work out.
I would have preferred a protagonist more at the center of the action. Despite Sandra’s intelligence, I wondered why Don Fletcher comes to her and why the killer feels so threatened by her. She seems like an unprepossessing woman. The earlier novels probably establish Sandra as a formidable investigator, but in The Fourth Season she comes across as a gifted amateur snoop. At times I felt I was reading a cozy without the coziness.
But in the end, the problem isn’t this beautifully executed novel but my expectations. I want a story with pulse-pounding action centered on the protagonist, and Johnston isn’t a writer who sacrifices realism to deliver cheap thrills.
5 stars.
Original Awesome Indies' Assessment (5 stars):
The Fourth Season is the fourth and final book in a mystery quartet by Australian author Dorothy Johnston. (The others are The Trojan Dog, The White Tower, and Eden.) I read the book with the disadvantage of not having read the earlier ones, so I knew nothing about the protagonist, Sandra Mahoney. She lives a complicated life with two children, an ex-husband, a live-in partner, and a fraught friendship with a police detective. She also has a reputation as a cyber-security expert. Of course Sandra’s history comes to bear on events in The Fourth Season.
The story centers on two murders: a student killed and dumped in a lake and a scuba diver killed and dumped in a public swimming pool near Sandra’s house. Sandra takes an interest in the first murder because her partner, Ivan, was in love with the student, Laila Fanshaw. He becomes an immediate suspect. It doesn’t help that he turns uncommunicative and selfish, staying out all night and neglecting their young daughter, who adores him. Then a stranger, Don Fletcher, phones Sandra and offers her money to investigate the case. Also a suspect, he wants the real murderer caught. Sandra has qualms but needs the money. She takes the case.
She discovers Laila’s passionate interest in environmental causes – in particular protecting the waters around Australia from exploitation by oil companies – and the passion that her beauty and energy aroused in those who knew her. Ivan isn’t the only one who fell for Laila. Various suspects emerge, including a prominent politician. Sandra’s snooping results in her being followed. After the scuba diver’s body is found, a phone call to the police places her car near the swimming pool. It becomes more and more obvious that Sandra and her children could be in danger.
Johnston writes polished prose and constructs a solid plot with masterful pacing. The story held my interest even though Sandra’s investigation consists mostly of her talking with the various people involved, and some of the conversations end without her learning much of anything. The most action-packed scene that she instigates is sneaking into Laila’s house to steal evidence. Much of the story concerns Sandra’s relationships with her children, with Ivan, and with Detective Sergeant Brook. The complex lives of these characters are as compelling as the murder mystery.
Sandra’s first-person narrative shows her intelligence and perceptiveness. She reads people well and knows how to draw information from them. But the narrative point of view keeps her on the periphery of the action. Lacking authority and tied by domestic responsibility, Sandra can go only so far. She must depend on Brook for crucial information that he isn’t always willing to share. She has a vital stake in the outcome, but the story’s climactic event unfolds many miles away from her. All she can do is wring her hands and hope things work out.
I would have preferred a protagonist more at the center of the action. Despite Sandra’s intelligence, I wondered why Don Fletcher comes to her and why the killer feels so threatened by her. She seems like an unprepossessing woman. The earlier novels probably establish Sandra as a formidable investigator, but in The Fourth Season she comes across as a gifted amateur snoop. At times I felt I was reading a cozy without the coziness.
But in the end, the problem isn’t this beautifully executed novel but my expectations. I want a story with pulse-pounding action centered on the protagonist, and Johnston isn’t a writer who sacrifices realism to deliver cheap thrills.
5 stars.
August 30, 2014
This is a beautifully written mystery with a strong literary feel to the style. There were many places where I highlighted the text so I could go back and savor the use of words to paint a picture. It is such a joy to discover those well-crafted sections of a novel:
I could see that the woman had made an effort, put on a certain kind of armour, but her lipstick was smudged and some had transferred itself to her teeth. Her eyes looked like two muddy puddles that some small child or dog had run through, making shapeless footprints. Though Laila's mother had painted her face bravely, now she didn't care if two strange women, who might, for all she knew, have been close to her daughter, saw the ruin.
Laila's murder is one of two that may be tied together, and this is what private investigator Sandra Mahoney gets pulled into, even though it might be better for her to leave it all alone. Her partner, Ivan, is one of the suspects and his odd behavior does nothing to ease the interest by the police.
Sandra and Ivan are partners at home, too, and he is the father of her second child, though they have never married. Their relationship is anything but normal to begin with, and it is complicated further by the fact that Ivan knew Laila and was probably in love with her.
I loved many things about the book. The descriptions put the reader right into the setting. The characters are diverse and well-presented. I dare anyone not to relate to Sandra on some level, and her 16-year-old son, Peter, was one of the best teen characters in an adult book that I have read in a long time. The narrative was never tedious, even though it does not have that quick, sharp pace that many commercial mysteries do, and the dialogue was smooth and real.
That said, I must agree with one reviewer on Amazon who stated that there was not enough information in the earliest part of the story about Sandra or her profession. I didn't realize she was a private detective until well into the story, and that bothered me. Of course, if one reads the book blurb, that information is there, but what if the reader doesn't bother with all that front material and goes right to the first chapter? Many readers have told me they don't even read a prologue, let alone all the introductory information about a book.
Still, that is not enough of a problem for me to hold back on a recommendation to read the book. In fact, I highly recommend it. The mystery is quite a tangled web that Sandra slowly figures out, while dealing with the challenges of a personal relationship so fragile it teeters on the breaking point.
I could see that the woman had made an effort, put on a certain kind of armour, but her lipstick was smudged and some had transferred itself to her teeth. Her eyes looked like two muddy puddles that some small child or dog had run through, making shapeless footprints. Though Laila's mother had painted her face bravely, now she didn't care if two strange women, who might, for all she knew, have been close to her daughter, saw the ruin.
Laila's murder is one of two that may be tied together, and this is what private investigator Sandra Mahoney gets pulled into, even though it might be better for her to leave it all alone. Her partner, Ivan, is one of the suspects and his odd behavior does nothing to ease the interest by the police.
Sandra and Ivan are partners at home, too, and he is the father of her second child, though they have never married. Their relationship is anything but normal to begin with, and it is complicated further by the fact that Ivan knew Laila and was probably in love with her.
I loved many things about the book. The descriptions put the reader right into the setting. The characters are diverse and well-presented. I dare anyone not to relate to Sandra on some level, and her 16-year-old son, Peter, was one of the best teen characters in an adult book that I have read in a long time. The narrative was never tedious, even though it does not have that quick, sharp pace that many commercial mysteries do, and the dialogue was smooth and real.
That said, I must agree with one reviewer on Amazon who stated that there was not enough information in the earliest part of the story about Sandra or her profession. I didn't realize she was a private detective until well into the story, and that bothered me. Of course, if one reads the book blurb, that information is there, but what if the reader doesn't bother with all that front material and goes right to the first chapter? Many readers have told me they don't even read a prologue, let alone all the introductory information about a book.
Still, that is not enough of a problem for me to hold back on a recommendation to read the book. In fact, I highly recommend it. The mystery is quite a tangled web that Sandra slowly figures out, while dealing with the challenges of a personal relationship so fragile it teeters on the breaking point.
August 6, 2016
I was wary of accepting The Fourth Season for review as it is the final installment in a quartet of mysteries featuring Sandra Mahoney but I was assured it would work as a stand alone so I ignored my doubts, tempted by the setting and premise, and decided to go throw caution to the wind. In hindsight I should have trusted my intuition because though this novel is well written, I was frustrated by my lack of understanding of the lead protagonist, Sandra Mahoney.
Set in Australia's capital, Canberra, the mystery central to the novel involves a murdered young woman, environmental activist and science student, Laila Fanshaw, her body found floating in Lake Burley Griffin. Private Investigator Sandra Mahoney is shocked to learn her husband, Ivan, is one of several suspects with no alibi for the time of Laila's death. It seems he had imagined himself in love with the girl, but he refuses to discuss the situation with Sandra so when she is approached by another suspect desperate to clear his name she takes the case, hoping to prove both her client's and her partner's innocence.
Sandra isn't sure what to make of the information she finds as she slowly uncovers a complex web of lies, betrayal and dark secrets. Initially she suspects environmental politics may have played a part in the murder but a second death twists the investigation in a whole new direction, one that leads back to her client.
The first person, present tense perspective has a noir-ish feel as Johnston combines Sandra's methodical investigation with ruminations on life and her relationships but I struggled with the introspective nature of the narrative in part, I assume, because of my lack of familiarity with the protagonist. There was a lot I felt I didn't understand about Sandra, from her relationship with Ivan and her children, to her professional status. What is obvious is that Sandra's personal interest in the case bleeds into her professional obligations as she struggles with her clients secrets, her husband's indifference and her children's fears.
This is a literary mystery, lacking the pace, though not the intrigue of its more commercial counterparts. I can't fault the writing but the style didn't quite work for me and I don't think it was right for me to start at the end, rather than the beginning.
October 18, 2014
Two murders turn private investigator Sandra Mahoney’s life upside down. A young woman’s body is discovered in a nearby lake, and shortly afterward, a scuba diver is killed and dumped in the neighborhood swimming pool. To complicate matters, Sandra’s partner, Ivan was in love with the young woman, Laila Fanshaw, and is a suspect in her murder. Sandra agrees to investigate the case for another suspect, hoping to clear both men of suspicion.
As Sandra asks questions and makes connections, the investigation broadens and trails lead in several directions. The investigation delves into environmental activism, shipwrecks, possible political complications, and the jealousy of a number of men enamored by Laila’s beauty. At the same time, Sandra’s life is a personal balancing act, navigating her roles as mother to two children, partner to a distraught and distant Ivan, and friend to a police officer who’d rather she stay out of the investigation. The emotional strain weighs on the back of her mind as she methodically investigates the murders.
Johnston’s prose is exceptional. I most enjoyed how real I found Sandra in her thoughts and emotions. The emotional thread of the book was almost more interesting to me than the murder investigation. I haven’t read the other books of the series and found myself intrigued by the family and Sandra’s relationship with Ivan and with Brook. The only challenge posed by the emotional heaviness of the characters is that it extends a bit to the pace and perhaps dampens a bit of the energy of the book.
I also thought the way that the investigation unfolded was incredibly realistic, the methodical questioning, re-questioning, following up on every detail, developing theories and seeing how they fit, the dead ends, the evasions, the anger and maneuvering by all parties, even the innocent. I didn’t know who the killer was until the very end.
The tradeoff is that the book isn’t high on action. The only action of the book, the climax, takes place off-stage without Sandra’s presence and first person perspective. She gets the phone call and brief description after the fact.
The Fourth Season is well-crafted and an interesting read for the sleuth-minded reader who enjoys figuring out puzzles with the characters. Three stars.
As Sandra asks questions and makes connections, the investigation broadens and trails lead in several directions. The investigation delves into environmental activism, shipwrecks, possible political complications, and the jealousy of a number of men enamored by Laila’s beauty. At the same time, Sandra’s life is a personal balancing act, navigating her roles as mother to two children, partner to a distraught and distant Ivan, and friend to a police officer who’d rather she stay out of the investigation. The emotional strain weighs on the back of her mind as she methodically investigates the murders.
Johnston’s prose is exceptional. I most enjoyed how real I found Sandra in her thoughts and emotions. The emotional thread of the book was almost more interesting to me than the murder investigation. I haven’t read the other books of the series and found myself intrigued by the family and Sandra’s relationship with Ivan and with Brook. The only challenge posed by the emotional heaviness of the characters is that it extends a bit to the pace and perhaps dampens a bit of the energy of the book.
I also thought the way that the investigation unfolded was incredibly realistic, the methodical questioning, re-questioning, following up on every detail, developing theories and seeing how they fit, the dead ends, the evasions, the anger and maneuvering by all parties, even the innocent. I didn’t know who the killer was until the very end.
The tradeoff is that the book isn’t high on action. The only action of the book, the climax, takes place off-stage without Sandra’s presence and first person perspective. She gets the phone call and brief description after the fact.
The Fourth Season is well-crafted and an interesting read for the sleuth-minded reader who enjoys figuring out puzzles with the characters. Three stars.
December 21, 2014
The Fourth Season is the fourth book in a series of stories by Australian author Dorothy Johnston. I have not had the pleasure of reading the previous stories but this did not impact on my enjoyment of The Fourth Season. Each book is set in a different season. In The Fourth Season it is autumn and Ms Johnston beautifully describes the changing climate and autumn colours Australia’s capital city at that time of the year.
The main character in the book is Sandra Mahoney who has a family life not unlike many today. She has both a partner and an ex-husband and each has fathered one of her two children. While this domestic situation is quite normal today it does complicate Sandra’s life as she struggles to protect her children while unravelling two murders that are only too close to her personal life. Complicating her investigation is her partner, Ivan, had fallen in love with the first of two victims, Laila Fanshaw, and he is one of the suspects.
Laila was concerned about environmental issues particularly marine habitat and the impact of oil exploration.
As a private investigator Sandra is hired by another murder suspect who was also enchanted by the young woman and linked with the second murder of a diving instructor.
During the investigation her attention is drawn to conspiracies, possible political corruption, computer hacking and crime. Her investigative techniques are largely based on skilful questioning and computer research but her police detective friend, Brooke, provides snippets of further information from time to time.
As an Australian it was wonderful to read an excellent whodunit set in my own country. The story has a steady pace never boring always moving forward to the next mystery as Sandra pursues her investigation. This combined with Johnston’s easy reading style, clearly descriptive prose and use of the first person makes it compelling reading.
This review is also available on my website www.pam.id.au
The main character in the book is Sandra Mahoney who has a family life not unlike many today. She has both a partner and an ex-husband and each has fathered one of her two children. While this domestic situation is quite normal today it does complicate Sandra’s life as she struggles to protect her children while unravelling two murders that are only too close to her personal life. Complicating her investigation is her partner, Ivan, had fallen in love with the first of two victims, Laila Fanshaw, and he is one of the suspects.
Laila was concerned about environmental issues particularly marine habitat and the impact of oil exploration.
As a private investigator Sandra is hired by another murder suspect who was also enchanted by the young woman and linked with the second murder of a diving instructor.
During the investigation her attention is drawn to conspiracies, possible political corruption, computer hacking and crime. Her investigative techniques are largely based on skilful questioning and computer research but her police detective friend, Brooke, provides snippets of further information from time to time.
As an Australian it was wonderful to read an excellent whodunit set in my own country. The story has a steady pace never boring always moving forward to the next mystery as Sandra pursues her investigation. This combined with Johnston’s easy reading style, clearly descriptive prose and use of the first person makes it compelling reading.
This review is also available on my website www.pam.id.au
October 18, 2014
This is a book concerning cyber-sleuth Sandra Mahoney. Sandra and her husband, Ivan Semyonov, are business partners. But the partnership ends there. Ivan was enthralled with the beautiful, seductive, younger woman, environmentalist, Laila Fanshaw.
Laila was obsessed with a shipwreck, the Maria Rosa that took place in the Bass Strait during the nineteenth-century. Laila, a woman without ethics and a big ego, is eager to reach the wreck. Laila was known to use her beauty and feminine wiles to attract divers, scientists, and computer wizards to obtain her goal. Somehow, Laila discovered an activity that had nothing to do with the shipwrecked Maria Rosa. The discovery cost Laila her life. She ends up dead in Lake Burley Griffin.
Ivan Semyonov is considered a suspect. Also considered a suspect is Don Fletcher, a former incompetent government worker for the Environmental Minister’s Office. Don lost his job after he left Laila idle at his computer. On Don’s computer, Laila discovered the Minister’s office wanted to patronize the oil and gas companies in the Bass Strait, disturbing marine life. Laila gave this information to the newspapers.
Don Fletcher is terminated and his marriage is in shambles.
Someone wants to make Sandra a suspect too. Sandra was already overwhelmed with her husband’s besotted behavior for Laila Fanshaw, and household debt.
In a duplicitous stance, Sandra takes a job as P.I. for suspect, Don Fletcher, at first, without telling her husband.
The book is fraught with a motley crew of murder suspects that might join prime suspects, Ivan and Don. It’s a book of murder, greed, manipulation, deceit, kidnapping, betrayal, drug runners, and a wily pathological killer.
Laila was obsessed with a shipwreck, the Maria Rosa that took place in the Bass Strait during the nineteenth-century. Laila, a woman without ethics and a big ego, is eager to reach the wreck. Laila was known to use her beauty and feminine wiles to attract divers, scientists, and computer wizards to obtain her goal. Somehow, Laila discovered an activity that had nothing to do with the shipwrecked Maria Rosa. The discovery cost Laila her life. She ends up dead in Lake Burley Griffin.
Ivan Semyonov is considered a suspect. Also considered a suspect is Don Fletcher, a former incompetent government worker for the Environmental Minister’s Office. Don lost his job after he left Laila idle at his computer. On Don’s computer, Laila discovered the Minister’s office wanted to patronize the oil and gas companies in the Bass Strait, disturbing marine life. Laila gave this information to the newspapers.
Don Fletcher is terminated and his marriage is in shambles.
Someone wants to make Sandra a suspect too. Sandra was already overwhelmed with her husband’s besotted behavior for Laila Fanshaw, and household debt.
In a duplicitous stance, Sandra takes a job as P.I. for suspect, Don Fletcher, at first, without telling her husband.
The book is fraught with a motley crew of murder suspects that might join prime suspects, Ivan and Don. It’s a book of murder, greed, manipulation, deceit, kidnapping, betrayal, drug runners, and a wily pathological killer.
October 18, 2014
This is a many-layered tale, well-executed and believable on all levels. There is the crime – two murders, probably linked, to be solved by sleuth Sandra Mahoney. There are the environmental issues that may be a factor in those murders, or may not. There are the men who were besotted by the beautiful first victim, Laila, and the emerging picture of how she played the men against each other to get her own way. One of those men was Sandra’s partner, father of her second child.
The family dynamics between Sandra, Ivan, and her two children play a significant part in the story, enriching the telling of the tale enormously. For me, the greatest strength of the novel was the skill with which the author lets us get to know the characters. They are all well-described, fully rounded people, firmly planted in the Australian locations.
What let the story down was the ending. I’ll choose my words carefully so as not to give away what was done by whom... It felt a little rushed, but that wasn’t my main concern. The abduction just didn’t strike me as something the murderer would do. As far as he knew the police had no real evidence against him at that point. He could have made his escape before they were any the wiser. Abducting a child was guaranteed to produce a prompt pursuit.
That said, I would still be prepared to recommend it. I was totally absorbed by the dynamics between the people and the gradual revealing of information.
The family dynamics between Sandra, Ivan, and her two children play a significant part in the story, enriching the telling of the tale enormously. For me, the greatest strength of the novel was the skill with which the author lets us get to know the characters. They are all well-described, fully rounded people, firmly planted in the Australian locations.
What let the story down was the ending. I’ll choose my words carefully so as not to give away what was done by whom... It felt a little rushed, but that wasn’t my main concern. The abduction just didn’t strike me as something the murderer would do. As far as he knew the police had no real evidence against him at that point. He could have made his escape before they were any the wiser. Abducting a child was guaranteed to produce a prompt pursuit.
That said, I would still be prepared to recommend it. I was totally absorbed by the dynamics between the people and the gradual revealing of information.
October 18, 2014
The Fourth Season
I would rate this book with 2 stars.
The strong point is it is based on an interesting story line concept.
Unfortunately the characters are wooden and lifeless in the face of many opportunities to be fully engaged in what in real life would be a roller coaster ride of excitement and dissolution in very real human interaction.
The real value of the book is in the people, the who done it, is really just a good way to bring the people alive. Sadly, the story is the strongest aspect of the book with the people starting weak and losing power from there.
I can not recommend this book until it is reworked to bring some fire, or at least a spark of life, to the characters.
I would rate this book with 2 stars.
The strong point is it is based on an interesting story line concept.
Unfortunately the characters are wooden and lifeless in the face of many opportunities to be fully engaged in what in real life would be a roller coaster ride of excitement and dissolution in very real human interaction.
The real value of the book is in the people, the who done it, is really just a good way to bring the people alive. Sadly, the story is the strongest aspect of the book with the people starting weak and losing power from there.
I can not recommend this book until it is reworked to bring some fire, or at least a spark of life, to the characters.
October 18, 2014
This is an often told story about a down on their heels detective struggling with marital problems, money problems, dishonest clients and unreliable witnesses. The big thing that sets this book apart is that the private detective is a woman, and a mother of two children. Sandra's character, while never entirely likable is a very relatable one, and her struggles carry the story, where the action, and murder plot line, fall short.
February 22, 2015
The Fourth Season provided substantial details about murder. The author’s characterization was well-developed. Having a prime suspect be the heroin’s husband provided a good twist. My only gripe is I wish the book would have started with action, perhaps showing how one of the people was murdered. Nevertheless, this is a four-star read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews