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Sylvia Wilcox Mysteries #1
Who She Was
A grieving husband walks into Sylvia Wilcox's private detective agency on Christmas Eve and asks her to solve his wife's murder. The husband, Carson Stark, can't understand why his wife, Liza, was in one of Detroit's worst neighborhoods, or why anyone would want to kill her. The police suspect infidelity, but a review of the case files and information leading up to Liza's murder fails to produce any evidence of disloyalty on Liza's part. As Sylvia works diligently to follow up on any and all leads, she is continuously met with roadblocks thrown up by secrets and lies from Liza's mysterious past.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 8, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
November 29, 2020
I HATE to leave 1* reviews but some authors really don't help themselves and I feel forced into it. This story sounded fascinating and has a LOT of splendid reviews so I downloaded it. However, it clearly hasn't been properly checked by any type of editing process and the author forgets her own story, so continuation is all over the place.
I found it most peculiar in the first place when the husband with the murdered wife told Sylvia that her friend had called him to report that she'd stood her up for coffee......I'd find that bloody strange myself. THEN a few pages later, Sylvia asks him if his wife had made it for the coffee meet with her pal......sigh.....then she decides to interview 3 people on the following day but had altered one of those by the time morning arrived !! THEN I got to 9% and it stated the murder had taken place over two years ago, when hubby had already told us it was seventeen months ago and I'd seen enough. Seems I was paying more attention than either the author was or other reviewers.........
I think this was an odd observation, too, "....the more people you include in your life, the more difficult it is to be happy" !! No explanation as to what she meant here.
She wrote refugee and not refuge and missed an apostrophe at one point but that was it for spelling/grammatical mistakes.
I'd have liked to know what was going to happen in this tale but sadly can't carry on with it in its present presentation.
I found it most peculiar in the first place when the husband with the murdered wife told Sylvia that her friend had called him to report that she'd stood her up for coffee......I'd find that bloody strange myself. THEN a few pages later, Sylvia asks him if his wife had made it for the coffee meet with her pal......sigh.....then she decides to interview 3 people on the following day but had altered one of those by the time morning arrived !! THEN I got to 9% and it stated the murder had taken place over two years ago, when hubby had already told us it was seventeen months ago and I'd seen enough. Seems I was paying more attention than either the author was or other reviewers.........
I think this was an odd observation, too, "....the more people you include in your life, the more difficult it is to be happy" !! No explanation as to what she meant here.
She wrote refugee and not refuge and missed an apostrophe at one point but that was it for spelling/grammatical mistakes.
I'd have liked to know what was going to happen in this tale but sadly can't carry on with it in its present presentation.
November 21, 2020
3.5 Stars
Sylvia Wilcox is hired to solve the cold case murder of Liza Stark, a well-heeled physician's wife found dead on the wrong side of Detroit.
There was a lot going on in this story and from time to time I'd have to remind myself of various character's identities. I felt that the story needed faster pacing and could have been wrapped up sooner. Alas, I never really warmed to the main character. The plotting was, however, meticulous and the words flowed.
Sylvia Wilcox is hired to solve the cold case murder of Liza Stark, a well-heeled physician's wife found dead on the wrong side of Detroit.
There was a lot going on in this story and from time to time I'd have to remind myself of various character's identities. I felt that the story needed faster pacing and could have been wrapped up sooner. Alas, I never really warmed to the main character. The plotting was, however, meticulous and the words flowed.
December 15, 2020
Raymond Chandler liked to write novels where the solution to the current crime lay in an event in the past that had been hidden for decades. No one wants to talk about the ancient tragedy. No one wants to believe that it could be important to understanding the current catastrophe. And yet it is.
Braylee Parkinson has picked up Chandler’s mantle in her excellent mystery, Who She Was? A woman is murdered for no apparent reason. The only “interesting” feature of the crime is that she is in a Detroit neighborhood where no wealthy woman had any legitimate business being. The police have decided—completely without evidence—that she was having an affair with a drug dealer who killed her. Her husband can’t accept that answer and hires Sylvia Wilcox to figure out what really happens.
While the resulting investigation takes months to resolve, the novel never feels like it is moving slowly. There’s a lot to unpack in this book and if you enjoy a good mystery, you’ll enjoy the process.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Braylee Parkinson has picked up Chandler’s mantle in her excellent mystery, Who She Was? A woman is murdered for no apparent reason. The only “interesting” feature of the crime is that she is in a Detroit neighborhood where no wealthy woman had any legitimate business being. The police have decided—completely without evidence—that she was having an affair with a drug dealer who killed her. Her husband can’t accept that answer and hires Sylvia Wilcox to figure out what really happens.
While the resulting investigation takes months to resolve, the novel never feels like it is moving slowly. There’s a lot to unpack in this book and if you enjoy a good mystery, you’ll enjoy the process.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
August 8, 2019
This book really gets going from the very start. A broken-hearted widower comes into Sylvia's office looking for answers in his wife's murder. What was she doing in that part of town? Why was she killed? The more that Sylvia looks into Liza's past, the more mysterious things become. Liza wasn't whom she portrayed herself to be. Was it someone in her past that killed her? That is for you to find out when you read the book. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
January 21, 2021
I could never write a novel. I do respect anyone who does.
This book is filled with repetitions, mistakes, and unlikely scenarios. The investigator missed leads and made assumptions out of thin air. This is just my opinion, I see that many, many people gave it four to five stars so 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
This book is filled with repetitions, mistakes, and unlikely scenarios. The investigator missed leads and made assumptions out of thin air. This is just my opinion, I see that many, many people gave it four to five stars so 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
August 27, 2019
I enjoyed the beginning of the series! It has nonstop clues to discovering who the killer really is. I loved the main character's. I enjoyed the persistence of the main character in solving the crime. I will be following this author for more of course! The book has no down time and won't disappoint!
July 13, 2024
Nice easy read
Characters were easy to get to know. Plot twist was good. Kept my interest. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Characters were easy to get to know. Plot twist was good. Kept my interest. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
February 9, 2021
Good premise, lots of potential - but couldn’t get past the many glaring editing issues. DNF
March 3, 2021
This book was offered as a Kindle special which is a great way to discover new writers, especially with the second-hand bookshops closed.
Set in Detroit and Ann Arbor – which is a refreshing change from New York, San Francisco and Chicago – Who She Was captures the attention from the start and continues its pace through the book. While plot-driven, the characters develop well and are interesting and individual.
While set in the contrasting worlds of comfortable affluence and grinding poverty, drug addiction and dysfunctional families, Parkinson does not fall into stereotypes or become preachy. The hero (Sylvia Wilcox) is a former cop now private investigator. She is haunted by events of her past, but doesn’t use them as an excuse or crutch.
The plotting is tight and the ending has the requisite, “I should have seen that coming!” quality about it. It is a detective story that does not deceive – it’s all there, the real clues, the false trails, the dead-ends. At no time is the reader misled. Wilcox methodically follows such evidence as there is in a two-year-old murder. She has to judge people and decide who is lying to her, who is concealing things and who is being straight.
What Wilcox has is a subtle but strong moral compass. She talks about going to Mass and talking to her parish priest, and does this in a way that is natural and convincing. It also reveals some of her motivation and general intentions in life.
This extends to the treatment of race (both by Wilcox and, obviously, by Parkinson). Race is a factor in the novel, but it is not the dominating factor, nor is it used as an excuse for social comment or a political platform. People are people in this novel. Some are villains, some are victims, some are caught in the middle and some are unscathed.
Race, drugs, poverty, and ignorance are elements that build the characters and drive the plot. They do not distract from the story telling, but add to its texture and credibility.
While not a ground-breaking novel, What She Was is an accomplished piece of writing and plotting. I shall certainly read more of Parkinson and expect we will all hear more about her, too.
Set in Detroit and Ann Arbor – which is a refreshing change from New York, San Francisco and Chicago – Who She Was captures the attention from the start and continues its pace through the book. While plot-driven, the characters develop well and are interesting and individual.
While set in the contrasting worlds of comfortable affluence and grinding poverty, drug addiction and dysfunctional families, Parkinson does not fall into stereotypes or become preachy. The hero (Sylvia Wilcox) is a former cop now private investigator. She is haunted by events of her past, but doesn’t use them as an excuse or crutch.
The plotting is tight and the ending has the requisite, “I should have seen that coming!” quality about it. It is a detective story that does not deceive – it’s all there, the real clues, the false trails, the dead-ends. At no time is the reader misled. Wilcox methodically follows such evidence as there is in a two-year-old murder. She has to judge people and decide who is lying to her, who is concealing things and who is being straight.
What Wilcox has is a subtle but strong moral compass. She talks about going to Mass and talking to her parish priest, and does this in a way that is natural and convincing. It also reveals some of her motivation and general intentions in life.
This extends to the treatment of race (both by Wilcox and, obviously, by Parkinson). Race is a factor in the novel, but it is not the dominating factor, nor is it used as an excuse for social comment or a political platform. People are people in this novel. Some are villains, some are victims, some are caught in the middle and some are unscathed.
Race, drugs, poverty, and ignorance are elements that build the characters and drive the plot. They do not distract from the story telling, but add to its texture and credibility.
While not a ground-breaking novel, What She Was is an accomplished piece of writing and plotting. I shall certainly read more of Parkinson and expect we will all hear more about her, too.
February 6, 2021
I kept wanting to love this new series, but I think there were just too many unknowns about the main character. The author needed to give us more info about her background in order for the reader to understand her better. I found the relationship between her and her brother-in-law strange and uncomfortable. Bottom line regarding character development -- there was not one character that I liked or connected with.
The story line was okay. The depiction of the development of the case was a bit convoluted, but that is probably pretty realistic in a complicated case. This was not a bad read, and not a waste of my time. I feel that the writer will develop over time.
The story line was okay. The depiction of the development of the case was a bit convoluted, but that is probably pretty realistic in a complicated case. This was not a bad read, and not a waste of my time. I feel that the writer will develop over time.
August 8, 2019
This is the first time I have read a story by this author and this book is amazing! I was caught up in the story immediately and I could not put it down! The characters are awesome and the book is so well-written that it is just so clear how awesome of a teacher this author was. Glad she is writing books! Great job. Now, another book, please.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 26, 2019
I really enjoyed this murder mystery, I found it to be a very intriguing plot with a wonderful cast of characters. I’ve never read anything by this author before but I’m certainly placing her on my ‘to read’ authors from now on. I enjoyed everything about this book, it’s a wonderful way to spend a few hours.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 30, 2019
Why did Liza die.?
A wealthy doctor’s wife gets murdered on the wrong side of town. Sylvia, ex-cop turned private eye, looks for answers for the murdered woman’s husband. Seems the lovely Liza had lots of secrets, and family members on both sides aren’t very cooperative. Can Sylvia solve her first big case? Read it and find out.
A wealthy doctor’s wife gets murdered on the wrong side of town. Sylvia, ex-cop turned private eye, looks for answers for the murdered woman’s husband. Seems the lovely Liza had lots of secrets, and family members on both sides aren’t very cooperative. Can Sylvia solve her first big case? Read it and find out.
July 21, 2021
Too Repetitive
Although the basic plot was decent, this 300 page book could easily have been told in 200. The author rehashed the same victiomology through every chapter. Will not be reading Danny more from this author.
Although the basic plot was decent, this 300 page book could easily have been told in 200. The author rehashed the same victiomology through every chapter. Will not be reading Danny more from this author.
August 26, 2019
Wow
A great read. The writing was excellent. The story line kept me engaged and I had not figured out who the killer was until the end.
A great read. The writing was excellent. The story line kept me engaged and I had not figured out who the killer was until the end.
August 30, 2019
Lots of heart
Couldn't put this one down
Enough surprises to keep the pages turning
Stro,g characters
A story with a lot of heart
Couldn't put this one down
Enough surprises to keep the pages turning
Stro,g characters
A story with a lot of heart
October 21, 2019
I'll be honest...at about 35% of the book, I started skimming through it. Just did not hold my attention, but I wanted to see if I guessed right. I did.
March 10, 2020
I guess this book was okay. I was fairly interested in the story, but the reading just got tedious after awhile. The slow pace got irritating. I quit caring and moved on at about 52%.
August 5, 2022
gosh, another book i read on April 27, 2022. apparently got lost in the kindle wasteland. making a joke. but i hate how that happen. reviewing now. all good. no worries. "Sylvia Wilcox Mysteries" series. 7 books in this series so far. great cover. i got it for free. i am thinking a giveaway ...but not totally sure??! guessing there. but?? i see this one came out in July 8, 2019. so maybe it was just free sometime on Amazon. can't keep all the knowledge in my mind at all times. u r allowed to figure some things. right??! i think so. suspense action fiction. domestic thrillers. private investigator mysteries. i am new to Braylee. (pseudonym: Melanie Parkinson. do you wonder, if the authors before one name to another? do they feel more comfortable being Braylee or Melanie? is it easier to hide behind a different name?? i know a lot of the times authors say they have a career and don't want that to mess with items either way. i get it. but i wish and feel that people should be able to have al ife outside or work and you have to understand ...or least i can that we all have lives and you can expect a priest or other religious folks or unreligious to walk a certain way always, i mean even some of the most refined folks will step on a crack and break their mother's back every once in a while?? i mean u have to understand my point. not having realistic expectations of all is nuts.) cool name. never have heard that one before.
April 23, 2021
Who is the main character? I don’t know and I don’t think the author does either.
The book opens with the main character having vodka shots on Christmas Eve then she doesn’t drink again for the whole book except for one glass of wine and a beer with her priest....
She gets up at 5 am and goes for runs. She hangs out with her priest — which makes zero sense and I don’t see any meaningful connection between them except to chat in order to further the plot. But not in a way that works.
And in the end the dead woman’s ex’s brother reveals everything to the main character because he has AIDS and needs to tell all before he dies. Wuttttttt....???
Pretty much every white person in the book is prejudiced against Black people including the dead girl’s parents but THEY love their white daughter’s black friend more than their daughter. Huh?
I was never privy to any of the main character’s personal thoughts.
It was like she was a pawn that the author moved around in an effort to execute the plot.
2.5 stars
The book opens with the main character having vodka shots on Christmas Eve then she doesn’t drink again for the whole book except for one glass of wine and a beer with her priest....
She gets up at 5 am and goes for runs. She hangs out with her priest — which makes zero sense and I don’t see any meaningful connection between them except to chat in order to further the plot. But not in a way that works.
And in the end the dead woman’s ex’s brother reveals everything to the main character because he has AIDS and needs to tell all before he dies. Wuttttttt....???
Pretty much every white person in the book is prejudiced against Black people including the dead girl’s parents but THEY love their white daughter’s black friend more than their daughter. Huh?
I was never privy to any of the main character’s personal thoughts.
It was like she was a pawn that the author moved around in an effort to execute the plot.
2.5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2021
In Braylee Parkinson's Who She Was, the first installment in the Sylvia Wilcox mysteries series, this captivating mystery debut will keep you guessing right to the end. For Sylvia Wilcox, she's a young widow and a former cop, who received her first mystery case to solve a two-year-old unsolved murder of Liza Stark as a private investigator when her husband Carson Stark asked her to investigate into the mystery behind it. With her brother-in-law Martin working by her side, they delved into her background as a wife and mother and unraveled the threads of her past. Who could've killed her in the poorest neighborhood in Detroit and why? Was it her best friend? Her family and in-laws? Or someone unbeknown to them since the DPD believed it was an affair gone wrong? The deepest they dug closer to the truth, the most suspects they had to believe it could be as they separate the truth between the secrets and the lies. In the end, they pieced the together the puzzle with the biggest surprising twist of them all to receive closure to the case.
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January 5, 2021Interesting story finding a murderer
Well written , even if having some overly descriptive moments , story looking into a cold case murder of a young white woman in a very black area of Detroit . The racial aspects are well covered . The dismal differences of poverty vs money included . This was a confusing and difficult investigation for PI Wilcox . So much deception and so many lies . Her tenacity in searching for the truth was remarkable . She simply couldn't quit as she knew the importance of knowing to the devastated husband who hired her.
The 4 stars are related to errors that could have been picked up by reading the book out loud . Otherwise great writing .
Well written , even if having some overly descriptive moments , story looking into a cold case murder of a young white woman in a very black area of Detroit . The racial aspects are well covered . The dismal differences of poverty vs money included . This was a confusing and difficult investigation for PI Wilcox . So much deception and so many lies . Her tenacity in searching for the truth was remarkable . She simply couldn't quit as she knew the importance of knowing to the devastated husband who hired her.
The 4 stars are related to errors that could have been picked up by reading the book out loud . Otherwise great writing .
January 28, 2021
A great novel that kept you guessing along with the strong female main character until the very end. Sylvia, a former police officer turned private detective, gives us a glimpse into the neglected neighborhoods in and around Detroit, Michigan--very eye opening. The author paints a sympathetic view of what life may be like for the police officers fighting generations of crime and depravity, as well as the tough plight many single mothers face.
NOTE: I took one star away due to just a few instances of unnecessary offensive language. This book briefly mentions some adult themes such as sexual child abuse by family members, but it is in no way graphic or explicit.
I would recommend this author to those who love murder mysteries and crime novels.
NOTE: I took one star away due to just a few instances of unnecessary offensive language. This book briefly mentions some adult themes such as sexual child abuse by family members, but it is in no way graphic or explicit.
I would recommend this author to those who love murder mysteries and crime novels.
December 26, 2021
Head Scratchin’ Page Turner
Sylvia Wilcox is one smart woman. Starting with the grain of sand that was the cold case death of Liza Starke, Wilcox builds a mountain of questions and circumstances, shuffles them up and turns them over and around until she tears that mountain back down to reveal the killer. The book is really, really well-written, with some characters likable and sympathetic from the start. Others, though, well we’re not so sure about - were Liza and Madelyn friends, enemies, or frenemies? Was Madelyn really the wonderful woman she appeared to be, or was that a ruse? Did she kill Liza, or did bad guy Demario or a hit from his prison cell? Good thing Syl was on the case, because she had the smarts to solve this head scratchin’ page turner!
Sylvia Wilcox is one smart woman. Starting with the grain of sand that was the cold case death of Liza Starke, Wilcox builds a mountain of questions and circumstances, shuffles them up and turns them over and around until she tears that mountain back down to reveal the killer. The book is really, really well-written, with some characters likable and sympathetic from the start. Others, though, well we’re not so sure about - were Liza and Madelyn friends, enemies, or frenemies? Was Madelyn really the wonderful woman she appeared to be, or was that a ruse? Did she kill Liza, or did bad guy Demario or a hit from his prison cell? Good thing Syl was on the case, because she had the smarts to solve this head scratchin’ page turner!
May 13, 2022
She was a Mom
Quite the interesting story to start the series. I picked up this first Sylvia Wilcox book as a freebie and have already gotten book 2. Sylvia Wilcox left the Detroit Police Department (DPD) and is now working as a PI. A new client, Carson Stark, requests that she find who murdered is wife 2 years ago. Sylvia follows leads that take her from the poorest neighborhood to the richest. I enjoyed that clues and information Sylvia found did not come easy and that she had to revisit people a number of times to pull out the truth. The ending wasn’t wrapped in a pretty bow but it was not rushed and was totally satisfying.
Quite the interesting story to start the series. I picked up this first Sylvia Wilcox book as a freebie and have already gotten book 2. Sylvia Wilcox left the Detroit Police Department (DPD) and is now working as a PI. A new client, Carson Stark, requests that she find who murdered is wife 2 years ago. Sylvia follows leads that take her from the poorest neighborhood to the richest. I enjoyed that clues and information Sylvia found did not come easy and that she had to revisit people a number of times to pull out the truth. The ending wasn’t wrapped in a pretty bow but it was not rushed and was totally satisfying.
November 15, 2020
Well written. Great rainy day read (and it really was pouring!) . Pleasure to read a new author (for me) where the writing is edited and knows how to keep the story moving. Only criticism is there a bit too much of "tell" where the cliche "show don't tell" should have been applied. However, am sure in her next books the author has probably nailed that one as well. Worth the read, which is actually no longer a given in 80%+ of what is being published in this genre. Go for it - it will not dissapoint.
January 10, 2021
I debated between a 3 and 4, and here's why: The 4 star is because the book is "clean," with very little that would be offensive. Also, most of the characters are well-written and the basic plot is good. The 3-star is because the author repeated the "list of clues" over and over (and over) again. I can take a bit of repetition fine, but this book had way too much repetition. Also - I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say I thought the ending was a bit off the mark. If the author had cut the repetition by half, I might even have given it a 5-star - naw.
January 19, 2021
Sylvia Wilcox usually tracks cheating spouses, but when Carson Stark asks her to investigate the two-year-old death of his wife, Sylvia feels compelled to help. Despite memories of her own bereavement and short career with the Detroit Police Department, she and her assistant doggedly track down witnesses and family and all the leads the PD couldn't or wouldn't two years ago. I cannot say I saw the resolution coming, but Parkinson has deftly woven in hints that even the most experienced mystery fan could miss. Brava!
January 30, 2021
Some secrets should never be kept!
This is a very good book. Shame is an extraordinary motivator to keep secrets that should never have made it to the shadows. When a wife & mother is murdered and politics force the case to go cold her husband hires a PI to find answers that he hopes will bring justice to whomever pulled the trigger putting five bullets into the woman he loved. The case has many twists to keep you guessing until the surprising conclusion. I look forward to reading more from this author.
This is a very good book. Shame is an extraordinary motivator to keep secrets that should never have made it to the shadows. When a wife & mother is murdered and politics force the case to go cold her husband hires a PI to find answers that he hopes will bring justice to whomever pulled the trigger putting five bullets into the woman he loved. The case has many twists to keep you guessing until the surprising conclusion. I look forward to reading more from this author.
February 6, 2021
Yes! A question mark murder at the beginning through the maze of possibilities in the middle, and the positioning of the final puzzle pieces at the end. Well done story. This particular book seemed to have a number of typos which detracts from the professionalism but the story is a strong beginning for this series. The story spends more time on the poverty of minds and wallets and less time on violence and sex. Such a refreshing change to violence and body counts. Parkinson puts the little gray cells to work.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews