Shared Disbelief: A Lupa Schwartz Mystery

Lupa Schwartz #4

by J. David Core

Pittsburgh PI Lupa Schwartz is out of his element, coerced into helping local police flush out a serial killer re-enacting the history of human sacrifice and martyrdom. Lacking the right skills to handle the case alone, he has been forced to give his chronicler a much larger and more dangerous role than her normal one as his Watson.
Gamut Magazine reporter Cattleya Hoskin has covered Lupa's work on many occasions, but his dependence on her in this case is unsettling. Asked to help subvert the FBI's interference with the case, and further taunt the killer by using her media contacts, her professional ethics are stretched to the limit.
With a killer bent on attacking religion by literally attacking the religious, Lupa and Cattleya face their hardest and most draining case yet. Relying on their individual strengths as much as each other, they're determined to put an end to the murders for good – even if it means crossing lines that should never be crossed.

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

With a profound interest in religion, liberal politics and humor, Dave began writing in High School and has not given up on it since. His first professional writing jobs came while attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh when he was hired to create political cartoons for the Pitt News & to write humor pieces for Smile Magazine. Dave has worked in the newspaper industry as a photographer, in the online publishing industry as a weekly contributor to Streetmail.com, and was a contributing writer to the Buzz On series of informational books and to the Western online anthology, Elbow Creek. Dave’s science fiction novel, Synthetic Blood and Mixed Emotions, is available from writewordsinc.com. Dave currently resides in his childhood home in Toronto, OH with his beautiful girlfriend and his teenage daughter. He enjoys participating in local community events & visiting with his two adult children and his grandson. Join the Facebook fan-page at https://www.facebook.com/Lupaschwartz...

Reviews

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another caper that pairs Pittsburgh PI Lupa Schwartz and Gamut Magazine reporter Cattleya Hoskin as they solve the mystery of who is ritualistically killing people. There is a little bit of a Sherlock and Watson feel to the relationship between Lupa and Cattleya, especially as those characters are played on the television show, "Elementary". Lupa is very smart, well-read, and sometimes acts superior to those around him. Carrleya is equally smart and well-read, and often puts Lupa in his place. Half of the fun of watching the TV show is waiting for Watson to stand up to Sherlock.

The mysteries in the Lupa Schwartz books are always fascinating, and I love the interplay between Lupa and all the supporting players, Bev, Trevor, Mia, and all. Their dialogue is often witty and sometimes snarky, and that is fun to read.

While doing her part to bait the killer in Shared Disbelief, Cattleya has a crisis of faith, and while some of the focus on that was fascinating - J.D. does a tremendous amount of research - I started wishing that we could get on with the investigation and the story. If you have an interest in the history of religions, you will probably appreciate getting to know some details that come out, and all that focus did connect to the main story.

I do love the covers of the Lupa Schwartz mysteries, and the two central characters are very engaging. That is what keeps me reading.

Note: I received an advance review copy from the author, but that did not influence my review.

[Danielle Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lupa Schwartz and his journalist partner Cattleya Hoskin. These two work together to find who is attacking the religious and why? A serial killer on the lose and time ticking by, can these two find out who is behind the murders before it’s too late? And what happens when each one has to use any and every means possible to bring out the psychopathic killer? Will they loose their careers? And what about their family and friends? By being placed together to solve one of the toughest cases ever will bringing down the killer mean losing those they love?

A mystery thriller whose bone chilling plot brings chills down the spines of its readers. The suspense is out of this world. Readers will be trying to guess who the murderer is and why. A page turning incredible novel that will keep readers up late reading. Shared Disbelief is definitely one compelling story they won’t want to miss out reading. I highly recommend J. David Core’s novel to readers all over. His talent for writing the perfect mystery thriller will keep readers lured into his worlds forever. Overall, I rate this novel a five out of five stars.

[Buttonholed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shared Disbelief, the fourth book and the third full length novel in the Lupa Schwartz Mysteries canon is creatively crafted by a superb pen. J. David Core is a master in telling a story with sublime English usage. His structure with words and sentences, I felt, are perfect in relaying his imagination to paper. I thoroughly enjoy a great read when the author knows how to flow with his writing to captivate the reader. Read my full Review at http://buttonholed.blogspot.com/