Playing the Devil

A Bridge to Death Mystery #2

by R.J. Lee

Reporter and bridge player Wendy Winchester once again plays ace detective when a country club member is murdered in a hot tub . . .

Now an investigative reporter for the Rosalie Citizen in the Mississippi River port of Rosalie, Wendy still likes to unwind over a game of cards. Following the demise of the Rosalie Bridge Club, she's started her own group at the Rosalie Country Club. During the first meeting of the Country Club Bridge Players, the dummy has barely been laid down when another dummy gets in a scuffle at the bar across the room. Bridge player Carly Ogle's husband Brent is at it again.

After the club's new female golf pro breaks up the fight, Brent storms off to soak in a hot tub. But Carly soon finds the bullying Brent dead in the water, clubbed over the head with the pestle the barkeep uses to crush leaves for mint juleps.

Racist, sexist, homophobic, and an all-around lout, Brent made enough enemies to fill a bridge tournament. So Wendy has to play her cards right to get the story--and stay out of hot water long enough to put the squeeze on the killer . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2020

About the author

R.J. Lee follows in the mystery-writing footsteps of his father, R. Keene Lee, who wrote fighter pilot and detective stories for Fiction House, publishers of WINGS Magazine and other 'pulp fiction' periodicals in the late '40's and '50's. Lee was born and grew up in the Mississippi River port of Natchez but also spent thirty years living in the Crescent City of New Orleans. A graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) where he studied creative writing under Sewanee Review editor, Andrew Lytle, Lee now resides in Oxford, Mississippi.

Reviews

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playing the Devil by R.J. Lee is the second tale in A Bridge to Death Mystery series. Wendy Winchester got together with Deedah Hornesby, director of Rosalie Country Club, to organize the Rosalie Country Club Bridge Bunch. To complete their first table is Carly Ogle and Deedah’s son, Hollis. They are enjoying their inaugural bridge game until Carly’s husband Brent causes a ruckus and then the lights go out courtesy of the storm. Thirty minutes later the power is restored, and Brent is dead in the club’s hot tub. Detective Ross Rierson is on the case and, of course, so is Wendy. Wendy, an investigative reporter for the local newspaper, is quick to dive into the case, gathering information and trying to fit the pieces together to solve the case. Playing the Devil can be read on its own if you have not had the time to read Grand Slam Murders. The information a reader needs to know about Wendy and the town is included in Playing the Devil. Wendy is the daughter of Rosalie’s police chief, Bax Winchester and is dating Detective Ross Rierson. She has a knack for getting information out of people and solving crimes. Wendy wants to be a top notch investigative reporter. Brent Ogle was an obnoxious and pompous man who was lucky not to have been killed earlier in life. It was only a matter of time before someone did him in. He went to far this time and the killer took advantage of a power outage to do away with the man. There were eight suspects (give or take) who all had good reasons for wanting Brent Ogle dead. There are pointed clues to help the reader solve the whodunit before Wendy arrives at the solution. I thought the mystery went with the story. Those who play bridge will like that aspect of Playing the Devil and a preemptive bid is explained as well as utilized. I found Playing the Devil to be a slow starter, but I felt the pacing picked up after the crime takes place. There are a variety of quirky characters in the small Southern town of Rosalie, Mississippi. I thought the author captured the feel of the south. Playing the Devil is a blithe cozy mystery with a loathsome lout, a mystifying murder, a surfeit of suspects, a dreamy detective, and a nosy newsperson.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This is the second book in the A Bridge to Death mystery series by R.J. Lee.

It is exciting to find all these new to me authors that I can try. And this book was definitely a winner to me! After reading this I went back and picked up book one on my Kindle.

This was a very complex Agatha Christie-like mystery. Wendy Winchester has a nose for sleuthing and her cop boyfriend and police chief father keep trying to get her to detect for them but she is having none of it. Her dream is being an investigative reporter. Wendy gets pulled into a mystery when a man ends up dead at a country club during a power outage. The victim was one of those annoying know it all types who used to be the quarter back in high school and in his current job shows up much of his competition. But all is not what it seems in his life. He is not very well liked and thus someone got tired of his BS and offed him!

I enjoyed this. Following along with Wendy was a very satisfying sleuthing experience. I never do seem to figure these things out but I liked watching the drama unfold in the pages of this cozy mystery. Such a well written and complex murder mystery. And there is even a clever twist at the end which I thought was pretty awesome!

I look forward to reading the previous book in this series and getting up to speed with all of Wendy’s accomplishments. Loved this so much! Looking forward to book three!

If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the small town of Rosalie, Mississippi, investigative reporter Wendy Winchester helps to organize a bridge club at the local country club. As the four members sit down for their inaugural game, a rough storm blows through town causing a power outage at the clubhouse. Plunged into darkness, fellow player Carly Ogle ventures out to the deck of the clubhouse to check on her drunken, obnoxious husband Brent, who's lounging in a hot tub. Brent is one of the most detested citizens of Rosalie and known as the "baddest devil of them all" after he manages to steal a football game from a rival team in high school. His sophomoric and belligerent behavior from high school follows him into adulthood, making enemies of almost everyone he meets.

What Carly discovers when she arrives at the hot tub sends Wendy, her father and chief of police Bax, and her boyfriend Ross on an investigation into murder. Wendy's investigative skills go into overdrive as she helps the men in her life solve the crime.

This is the second installment of the A Bridge to Death mystery series by R. J. Lee. It oozes southern charm with great characters, building a strong framework for future installments of the series.

[John Presler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been about a year since the Grand Slam Murders and Wendy Winchester is working with the new director of the Rosalie Country Club to organize another group of bridge players. Initially, the group will be Wendy, Dorothy Hornesby, the RCC Director, Mitzy Stone, the RCC Golf Pro, and Hollis Hornesby, an artist and the son of Dorothy Hornesby. The fourth member of the group will be Carly Ogle, the wife of Brent Ogle. Brent is a huge donor to the Country Club, in addition to being a very arrogant and disagreeable person.

While the Bridge Bunch is starting their first round of bridge, Brent and two others are playing a round of golf. Stormy weather cuts their golf game short after 9 holes, with Tip Jarvis and Connor James both coming out ahead of Brent. Needless to say, Brent is fit to be tied and is creating quite a ruckus as a result. Following his blow-up, Brent decides to relax in the club's hot tub. A short time later, a power failure plunges the club into total darkness. Unable to play bridge, Carly decides to check on her husband. Unfortunately, while returning to get Wendy, she is bumped by an unknown person and falls. When Wendy and Carly return to the hot tub, Wendy realizes that Brent has a massive gash on his forehead and is quite dead. Wendy calls 911 and also sends texts to her father, the chief of police, and her boyfriend, Ross Rierson to alert them of the issue. With no shortage of enemies, the police have a massive job trying to solve this mystery.

Who killed Brent Ogle? Why was he killed? Can Wendy solve the mystery of Brent's death? Will Wendy be able to get the Bridge Bunch off the ground?

R.J. Lee does a great job of creating a very complex mystery with plenty of suspects, in addition to major twists and turns. This mystery is guaranteed to keep the reader guessing clear to the end.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another mystery to solve with some bridge players! Rich people are ruthless and brutal. They do whatever they want to get ahead...no wonder one always ends up dead! I wasn't sure who the killer would end up being. There were obvious suspects as well as the not-so-obvious ones. I think the reveals were a little surprising and half of it was not what I was suspecting at all. I like this author's style of writing and will continue with his books as long as he keeps writing them!!

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing the Devil is the second installment in the Bridged to Death Mystery series. Reporter and breach player Wendy Winchester just started her on bridge club at the country club in Rosalie, Mississippi. One of the other members husband turns out to be pretty much everything you can think of. When he's found in the sauna dead, not a lot of people shed a tear.

[Emmalynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m giving up on this series. It just does nothing for me at all.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm two minds about this book: on one side I appreciated the complex mystery and the characters, on the other side it seems too slow paced at times and I struggled to keep on reading.
I'm happy I persevered because I think the ending is good and overall it was an entertaining read.
I think it can be liked by a lot of cozy mystery lovers but it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by R.J. Lee, though it is the second book in the A Bridge to Death mystery series. The mystery is something of a throwback to a locked room mystery, with a limited number of suspects in a concentrated, limited space (though the investigations take place in other locations as well as at the scene of the crime.)

Wendy Winchester is back at it again, continuing her quest to learn how to play bridge, and she has gotten together with a group of friends for a Sunday afternoon game. The afternoon turns sour, however, after the husband of one of her fellow players confronts his friends and verbally attacks everyone at the country club that afternoon. Things get even more strange when the husband is later found dead in the hot tub. Wendy knows she's innocent, and it doesn't take much to convince Ross Rierson, the lead detective and her boyfriend, and Bax Winchester, Wendy's father, likewise. However, they need to find out which of the other suspects did do the deed.

It was a different take, having the main character's father also (in addition to the boyfriend) be part of the police force investigating the crime. In real life, I feel that both Ross and Bax would have needed to recuse themselves from the investigation, because Wendy technically was a suspect. Maybe they are the only two detectives in Rosalie? (They're not. Other police officers are mentioned. One other, at least.) I know nothing of official police procedures, though, so I'd take what I think with a grain of salt.

The little I know of police procedure is mimicked by how little I know about bridge. Bridge is talked about a lot in this book (understandably) and I feel it would be more enjoyed by someone who knows how to play already when reading the book, though I still found it readable and understandable enough so I didn't get disheartened by the amount of bridge knowledge that I did not have while reading.

I felt that the previous mystery in the series was brought up with great regularity. It's expected in a series that the previous mystery/mysteries would at least be mentioned but I found this to have been done very often and it eventually grated a bit. I wish I had kept track of how many times but I didn't. However, I'd estimate that in just under 300 pages, the previous mystery, and the fact that Wendy solved it when the police were unable to, was mentioned probably half a dozen times.

I found some characters attitudes towards people who are presumably different from them to be somewhat dismissive (I felt the characters were being dismissed and discounted because they were this certain different way) and this left me feeling similarly dismissed because I am a member of the group they seemed to look down upon.

However, despite the flaws I feel this story/book had, it really was an enjoyable way to pass a few days/evenings. I did guess the killer, though I do not view this as a detriment to Mr. Lee, but merely of being mainly a cozy mystery reader and therefore being possibly a bit more genre savvy than might normally be expected. However, I still like reading books that I've guessed the killer or the ending to because I like seeing how the writer takes the reader there, and that was a wonderfully related journey in this book. I would definitely read another book by this author and I look forward to looking into his other work(s).

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this, the second in the series, a bit slow at the start. Bridge isn't for me so I had to stick with it until more characters and the obvious victim where center stage. Once the very, very obnoxious, soon to be done in, husband of one of the bridge players was introduced the pace picked up. Brent had no redeeming qualities. He pushed somebody too far and the killer took advantage of a power outage during a storm to bash him over the head while he lounged in the club hot tub.
Wendy had a plan to start her own bridge club at the country club and Brent's wife was present when the crime occurred. Then there was the friction between Brent and the bartender, Brent and his golfing partners, friends since high school. Lots of suspects and Wendy, having her career sights set on becoming a top notch investigative reporter, is ready and eager to uncover the killer. It helps that her father is the local police chief and her boyfriend is a cop. The mystery had enough complexity to keep me guessing (wrong every time) and there were the needed red herrings, too. If you haven't read the previous book, that's fine, this one works as a stand alone.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in this series, Grand Slam Murders, was an okay read. I wasn't sure about continuing the series but am glad I did! This was a fun one with a good twist.

Lee has some good character development in this one. Wendy, Ross and Merleece aren't stagnant. They've changed like we all do over the past few months and as readers we see more of who they are. Wendy is a terrific character--smart, ambitious but not in a nasty way, caring and like someone you'd like to have as a friend. I was a little turned off by how Merleece was portrayed in the first book -- like an uneducated and ignorant woman but in this one we see her more three dimensional and a pretty smart. For all the characters the "hick" southern speech is toned down quite a bit. It may be how they speak, but to a Californian they sounded like dumb hicks in parts of the first book. In this one the characters are spot on.

I really like the premise of the series -- bridge games and Wendy's goal to become a really good bridge player. It makes me want to start going to the open bridge game days at our local community center once we can do those things again. And the secondary theme of this one -- accomplished women -- was a great one.

Just enough red herrings to keep the story going and nicely done resolution.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reporter and bridge player Wendy Winchester once again plays ace detective when a country club member is murdered in a hot tub . . .

Now an investigative reporter for the Daily Citizen in the Mississippi River port of Rosalie, Wendy still likes to unwind over a game of cards. Following the demise of the Rosalie Bridge Club, she's started her own group at the Rosalie Country Club. During the first meeting of the Country Club Bridge Players, the dummy has barely been laid down when another dummy gets in a scuffle at the bar across the room. Bridge player Carly Ogle's husband Brent is at it again.

After the club's new female golf pro breaks up the fight, Brent storms off to soak in a hot tub. But the bartender soon finds the bullying Brent dead in the water, clubbed over the head with the pestle the barkeep uses to crush leaves for mint juleps.

Racist, sexist, homophobic, and an all-around lout, Brent made enough enemies to fill a bridge tournament. So Wendy has to play her cards right to get the story—and stay out of hot water long enough to put the squeeze on the killer

No please no

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regular cozy readers know that there are a lot of suspects in the murder of Brent, who is found bludgeoned in the hot tub at the Rosalie Country Club. Wendy, an investigative reporter at the local paper, has to investigate - just has to- because that's what she does. She's the daughter of the local police chief, btw, and she's got a nose for trouble. Set in small town Mississippi with a cast of characters who will seem familiar, it's a quick and entertaining read. Although it's the second in the series, it's fine as a standalone. It's also, for fans of the game, less reliant on bridge than the first one. Thank to net galley for the ARC.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
Playing The Devil by R.J. Lee is the 2nd book in the cozy A Bridge To Death Mystery series.
I was lucky to have read the 1st book in the series, Grand Slam Murders and I thought this book was a great continuation to the series.
I found it well written, original with an unique theme and had a great cast of characters.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Cold Reading Murder.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it slightly cringy with the main character who is not on the police force trying to solve the murder as if she was an actual police detective. She is not but is apparently entitled to private information due to her being the daughter of the chief of police and dating another officer. The crime happens in a country club and was interesting as everyone there had it out for the guy since he was a terrible person. So that gave us about 8 suspects to start eliminating. I just wish the author had made this lady an actual cop instead of a reporter.

[Kathy]

I read this while under shelter at home orders during COVID-19 pandemic and it just did not hold my attention with all that was going on. I hope to get back to this at another time because what I read I enjoyed but my focus was not on reading the longer we stayed at home.

[Cherise Deeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the series I enjoyed so much better than the first! I am so glad I decided to try this series again! I am really growing to love Wendy and her way of asking questions and getting to the truth! She has good instincts! Looking forward to the next book

[Joellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

five stars I liked it, it is as simple as that.

[Pat Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but way too many repetitions

[Jewett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed all the characters and the plot in this one.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here: Wendy Winchester is not only a good investigative reporter, she would make a terrific policewoman, as both her father, The Chief of Police, and her boyfriend remind her frequently. While she is interviewing two very successful woman at a local Golf Club, she is also uncovering information that she shares with the two men in her life. She is able to find out things that they cannot. And they need all the help they can get to solve the murder of a thoroughly reprehensible example of a human being who meets his end in a hot tub during a wicked storm that knocked out the power. The fact that Wendy was there when it all happened puts her powers of observation to good use. It is not going to be easy. No matter how the others who were there might wish this man dead, all of them seem incapable of doing the deed.
He was an equal opportunity hater and his loved to spread his malice around. He was nicknamed the Devil for his prowess on the football field in high school. Some think the moniker is apt indeed.
So who did the world a favour? Was it one of the women he belittled or the bartender he insulted or his golf buddies whom he disdained? They all had both motive and opportunity. In fact, might there be teamwork going on here? You will need to read the book but the reader could not blame any one of them for removing this piece of trash. It had me guessing right to the end.
Four purrs and two paws up.

[Carla Hostetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first book in this series of cozy mysteries. Wendy Winchester has gotten her dream job as an investigative reporter in the town of Rosalie (read Natchez), a new female editor, and the start of a another bridge club. Unfortunately, this bridge club appears to be as doomed as the last when an obnoxious jerk who flaunts his money and insults everyone is found murdered in the country club hot tub during a power outage where Wendy and her new recruits have gathered to play. Due to the foul weather, only the card players, a bar tender, and the jerk's two golf partners inhabit the large building. All have been newly offended by the drunken man. As the police assert, all of the suspects wandered around the premises during the outage and any could be guilty-except Wendy of course who helps her police chief father and hunky detective boyfriend to solve the case using her research skills. Not so much bridge in this one though an opening gambit does figure into the solving of the case which has many red herrings and unexpected twists. Written by a man who knows southern society, this will please cozy readers. P.S. The cover has nothing to do with the story, no black cats, no woman in the hot tub. Cover artists-whatcha gonna do?

[LInda L · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why, but it took me forever to read this book. I kind of liked it, but not a lot. Liked the father a lot, and the boyfriend/fiancé. Was not too crazy about Wendy, who seemed like a real know-it-all -- who does 2 jobs and excels at both? I also liked Mertreece. The killer/killers were something of a surprise, just because there were so many suspects. I thought the story was pretty good, but could not understand why it took me so long to get through it. It wasn't all that complicated, but it was still a very long 291 pages.

[Ann Bergeron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the author's "Bridge to Death" mystery series returns the reader to the mythical town of Rosalie where another murder has just been discovered. Eccentric characters who are extremely likable and surprising plot twists make this a great beach read. Or quarantine read!

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the series. I really enjoyed and didn't see that ending come.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A library find.
Second read. August 2025.
Enjoyable.