Murder By Symbols: A Detective Colton Baker Thriller

by E.M. Kelly

12x Award-Winner

Winner - Best Thriller - 2025 Independent Authors AwardWinner - Best Mystery/ Procedural - 2025 American Fiction AwardsWhat does America’s first traitor have to do with a present-day killer?

Stoughton detective, Colton Baker, finds himself wrapped up in a murder investigation his first week on the job. As more bodies turn up, all marked with strange symbols, both the State Police and FBI become involved. Quickly, the investigation turns political.

Baker and Agent Diaz, a young, beautiful FBI academy graduate, put agency grievances and politics aside to begin their hunt for the killer together.

Stoughton, Massachusetts is a town deep rooted in history. Soon, their investigation leads them to the inception of our nation and introduces them to a traitorous founding father. Can information from this small town’s past help decipher the killer’s mysterious messages? Can they crack the code and stop a sadistic killer before they strike again?

Some secrets are worth killing for!

12x Award-Winner

Winner - Best Thriller - 2025 Independent Authors AwardWinner - Best Mystery/ Procedural - 2025 American Fiction AwardsBronze Winner – Crime Fiction – 2025 Readers Favorite Book AwardsJudges’ Top Pick – Police Procedural – 2025 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion AwardFinalist – Best Crime Fiction – 2025 Independent Authors AwardFinalist – Best Mystery – 2025 Independent Authors AwardFinalist - Best Crime - 2025 American Fiction AwardsSemifinalist – KBR Best of Indie – Mystery/ThrillerSemifinalist – KBR Best of Indie – Best CoverShortlist – Best Fiction – 2025 American Writing Awards Hawthorne Prize2024 Incipere AwardsReaders Favorite Five Star Reviews

Genres: Mystery Thriller

405 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2024

About the author

E.M. Kelly is an avid reader and award-winning author.

He released his latest novel, Murder By Symbols: A Detective Colton Baker Thriller in November of 2024. It is the first book in the Detective Colton Baker series.

Currently he is working on the second book in the series titled, Two Lefts: A Detective Colton Baker Thriller.

Reviews

[Clare OHara Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book

great job writing this local mystery by a first time author. I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not guess the ending! Hooe to see more if this author!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Impressed!

I'm so impressed by this book! In fact, I loved this book for many reasons! The storyline was riveting making it such that I could not put this book down. Also, the way the plot was executed, I did not see the end coming, which is how I love my murder mysteries! If you love murder mysteries with many twists in its plot and a surprising ending, Murder by Symbols is for you!

Honestly, there is another, more personal reason for me loving this book. I have very close personal ties to Stoughton, Massachusetts and grew up not far from the town. The depiction of Stoughton in this book is spot on in all ways - I could literally envision the areas and buildings described and the very real bonds between people in Stoughton. Also, being as familiar as I am with Stoughton, I was even able to equate places depicted in the book with existing or formerly existing places. I would love to see another Detective Colton Baker Thriller and see more of Stoughton come to life!

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
This was a quick read about a detective (and a nosy reporter) trying to solve a case of a vindictive serial killer. There were some big holes in the story for me. The killer leaves a series of cryptic clues and coded messages, but it is never explained why he didn’t just write out his reasoning. Why make it so difficult for the detectives to understand his messages? Does he want them to know or not? And what murderer has the time for such an elaborate communication system? It was also unrealistic that the investigators took so long before they considered looking into the meaning of the symbols, which appeared to be an obvious clue to the murders.

There were a number of characters to keep track of and I think that the story may have been stronger with fewer of them. There was already so much going on. The underlying relationship to the murders with local history may be of interest to history buffs.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.

[M.k. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give this book 3.5 stars. I really liked the setting and the main character - I always enjoy smart law enforcement characters that can puzzle things out and stick with things. There were a few too many characters to keep track of for me - but I was able to get most things figured out. I ran across a few issues with content i.e. “you’re getting an accommodation for that drug bust” - pretty sure it should be “you’re getting a commendation for that drug bust”. But overall these didn’t detract much from the storyline I also enjoyed the history part of the book - learned a few things. I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks to the Author, publisher, and GoodReads got this opportunity.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder By Symbols introduces us to Colton Baker who is having a rough first day as Stoughton Massachusetts newest detective. His first case is the weird murder of a beloved local fireman, and his week doesn’t get much better. In this fast-paced thriller Colton has to take on a psycho serial killer, a local mob boss, corrupt politicians, a singularly focused FBI agent, an ambitious reporter, and a dad suffering from dementia. With all that on his plate he still manages to put together the clues and find the killer.
I really enjoyed this exciting tale and look forward to the next installment.

[Frank Scudder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my normal genre for books. I obtained this through a book swap between professionals and enjoyed supporting this independent author. The actions starts quickly and the story is well written. Almost nothing of this book is predictable which is refreshing. The twist at the end was a complete surprise. I enjoyed the character development for Detective Baker. Just enough "human" elements were given to this hero to make him a believable champion. The book reads fast and I just ordered another one of Mr. Kelly's books. I do recommend this book for someone who wants a fast paced read with twists and enough small town politics to keep things interesting.

[Jenny Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. I really, really did. Maybe it’s because I read on a Kindle, but it’s like the editor went to sleep (maybe there was no editor??). Typos, poor grammar, and misspellings galore- to a distracting degree. The mystery aspect of the story was interesting, but then was wrapped up too suddenly, almost like the writer ran out of time and just wanted to be finished with it. The random personal details felt cheesy. Overall, no, I don’t recommend.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apologies in advance to the author.
Meh. I’m pretty sure this book was written using AI. Or maybe it was a 13 year old? The sentences were basic, the characters were not developed and the editing was poor. In one place, some characters were discussing a murder victim by name before she was identifiable by the medical examiner. Way too many plot holes.
I don’t recommend.

[Brumby D! · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun and engaging read

What a fun and engaging read. I won’t this book from a Goodreads giveaway and it didn’t disappoint. I was quickly invested I’m the character and town. I thought the police wrk was great. I read it in one sitting and can’t wait for the next book.

[Samantha Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This writing is horrible. I don't understand how this book is rated so high. I got 30% in and most of that was skimming the dialogue.The author tells instead of shows. The same information is repeated 3 different ways on each page.

[Jynine Benvenuti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The character development was great. I found it hard to put the book down. I wanted to keep reading. I like that the chapters are short and allow for changes in locations that are easy to follow. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Lindsay Bice · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun, easy read

This was a fun mystery to read. The characters were enjoyable and the plot was well thought out. A nice beach read for mystery readers.

[Christianah A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep going! Great job

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible dialog. poor writing. didn't finish the book.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced thriller

You're pulled in right at the start of this book, then the characters are introduced. Short chapters and enjoyable from start to finish.

[Jessica K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
There are a lot of grammar and punctuation errors.

[Judalon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy good read and I enjoyed every page. I did not guess the end! Enjoyed the characters as well. Nicely paced. An enjoyable read.

[Deborah Silcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Good development of characters early on. I would read another book in this series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great mystery that kept me turning the page. I also loved how he tied all the historical references into the plot.

[Caitlin Radziseski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder by Symbols was such a fun book! I read it so fast and loved the storyline and the characters. Every time I thought I knew who the murderer was, the story immediately took a turn that had me second-guessing my thoughts. Colton Baker was such a fun protagonist because even though he was clearly much smarter than the other characters and his thoughts processed in a different way, he never rubbed it in anyone's face or went on a power trip. I also liked that there was a female FBI agent included because a lot of times in this genre, women are overlooked and it is an all male cast.

The story moved quickly and in an exciting way and I really look forward to reading the sequel when it comes out in a few months. If you love a good murder mystery with police and FBI agents, go read this book!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise for the book. There seemed to be several procedural gaffes. Why did it take so long to find the “bum?” Why did it take so long to focus on the symbols? The murders were pretty gruesome.