Every Breath You Take

Laura Principal #1

by Michelle Spring

Wildfell Cottage is a serene weekend oasis for three career women whose lives have taken sudden turns. But they are barely acquainted before one of them is dead—and another is determined to find out why.

Between the worlds of academia, art, and politics, someone slipped into a woman's life and snuffed it out in a burst of rage, leaving Laura Principal to untangle a wicked web of secrets and hypocrisy. What Laura finds is the perfect suspect. Unfortunately, a better one has found her. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 7, 1998

About the author

Michelle Spring was raised on Vancouver Island. She worked for many years as an academic in Cambridge where she lives with her husband and their two children. She has written several academic books and five Laura Principal thrillers.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hinderlijk gevolgd” - Michelle Spring
5 ⭐️

Deel 1 van de serie over privédetective Laura Principal.
Leest vlot, houdt je aandacht gedurende het hele verhaal, zet je op het verkeerde spoor en is spannend!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting characters.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight-forward detective thriller - easy and entertaining read.

Laura is a private detective who gets involved in a couple of cases, especially when an acquaintance of hers is found murdered. Along with the police and her team, she uncovers various ill-doings. There are many interesting original characters, mainly women. It's not a long novel and is a satisfying and engaging read. Worth a look.

[Zachary West · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected from a murder mystery. Quite slow paced throughout the book until the climax. I never felt the urge to keep burning through pages to discover the truth. While I can appreciate the literary quality, the pacing was simply not for me.

[Nefty123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot but not riveting.

[Nicky Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!
A new author for me from a find in a charity shop.
We meet PI Laura Principal - a smart sassy young investigator much in the same vein as Val McDermid’s Kate Brannigan & Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone.
Laura & her friend Helen are looking for a 3rd person with whom to share their weekend cottage retreat to help with expenses.
A woman is recommended to them & they invite Monica to the cottage for a weekend to suss her out.
Laura senses Monica is uneasy about something & when she finds Monica a week later brutally murdered in her Cambridge home Laura determines to find out who killed her.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the three I've read so far----Michelle Spring blends a light touch of pleasantry with a surprising flavor of suspense and drama. A bit like a more modern Mary Stewart (think Touch Not the Cat) but without quite the majesty. I think I'll reread these before I give them away next week! This one, her first, focuses on acquainting the reader with a remarkable "career woman", Laura Principal, and her attempts to balance work (private investigator) with family (complicated boyfriend) and with her own need to maintain a sense of self in a feminist post graduate world. She values her deep friendships, but they suffer in the balance and she valiantly works to bring these parts of herself into cohesion. And writing this has upgraded her book from 3 to 4 stars in my judgement! And now having skimmed through a few chapters I bring it back down to 3. The writing is a touch too reserved, too self reflective. She needs to grow into the "show don't tell" style.

[Clare F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much story was packed into a fairly small book. The characters were easy to imagine and the plot was great. I didn't guess the outright 'villain' but was pleased to see a few other baddies dealt with along the way by a fantastic main character.
I've had this book for a while and what a gem it turned out to be. I'll certainly be looking out for the other books in the series. Having a cpmplimentary quote from the fantastic Val McDermid on the front cover is like the icing on the cake.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Laura Principal series and I liked the title, the play on The Police song and as I got into the story, enjoyed the mystery as it developed; liked the area around Cambridge and the characters. It was good enough to get me reading the remainder and on the whole I enjoyed them all.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

A British PI I've been looking forward to for a while. I wasn't terribly impressed, I found it a bit cold and clinical and none of the characters really made an impression on me. Nevertheless I'll try the second in the series. Technically sound but lacking excitement.

[Azuree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up in the Philadelphia airport on a layover when I had finished my book and needed something else to read. I was drawn by the title, taken from a song by The Police. Although, slow in a few parts, I thought the mystery was good and I liked the main character.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this appears to be the first Laura Principal novel, I've been late getting to it. I enjoyed the female companionship that is at the base of the story and as the book cover said I was sustained from page to page. For those who like the gentle thrillers, this is a good one.

[Babette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book once I progressed into it. I am not sure how I came upon this author, but I am glad to have found yet another series to pursue.

[Kay Wells · Rating 1 out of 5]

could not get gripped into this book a bit tame for my liking not sure i would read another by this author.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemporary English mystery with a strong female detective-I read and enjoyed this in a day.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. I didn't know that there were 5 books in the series nor that they were intended to be read in any particular order.