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DS Jerome Roberts #4
The Party
Sharon Watkins, much loved mother, sister and friend - found dead in the garden pond on the night of her son’s 18th birthday party. With a storm raging, and most of guests intoxicated, no one is quite sure how it happened.
When the pathologist rules that she was strangled to death, DS Jerome Roberts and DCI Richard Martin know they have a big job on their hands.
From Sharon’s fiancé with his violent temper, to her deeply jealous elder sister - everyone has their own version of the night’s events, and everyone is a suspect.
In this fast-paced whodunnit, you’ll be left wondering how well you really know your loved ones.
When the pathologist rules that she was strangled to death, DS Jerome Roberts and DCI Richard Martin know they have a big job on their hands.
From Sharon’s fiancé with his violent temper, to her deeply jealous elder sister - everyone has their own version of the night’s events, and everyone is a suspect.
In this fast-paced whodunnit, you’ll be left wondering how well you really know your loved ones.
- GenresMystery
217 pages, ebook
First published January 21, 2020
400 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Lewis M. Penry
7 books7 followersSelf published author of The Dating Game: a fast paced crime novella, and avid reader of all crime, thriller and mystery fiction!
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 7, 2020
Grammatically appalling!
I managed to complete the book but cannot recommend it. The word "sat" is used incorrectly at least thirty times. He was "sat"; she was "sat"; instead of "sitting" or "seated". There were many other grammatical errors and unexplained plot turning that made no sense. Sorry, this was a dreadful book.
I managed to complete the book but cannot recommend it. The word "sat" is used incorrectly at least thirty times. He was "sat"; she was "sat"; instead of "sitting" or "seated". There were many other grammatical errors and unexplained plot turning that made no sense. Sorry, this was a dreadful book.
July 29, 2021
DS Jerome Roberts and DC Nicola Wood are called to the scene of a crime. Thirty-six-year-old Sharon Watkins has been found drowned in a garden pond on the night of the 18th birthday of her son, Alexander. Not only was Sharon bruised and murdered, she had also been raped sometime during that night.
But then there were 42 people present at the party, including 25 men. How will DS Roberts ever identify the killer?
Younger sister Rebecca, brother Paul and mother Jackie are quick to blame Sharon’s partner, Leroy Campbell, former footballer with a troubled past. Jackie thinks that Leroy was cheating on Sharon with his ex-wife, Colette, who along with her 8-year-old son, Orlando, was present at the party. Sharon’s best friend, Beth Pendleton, and Leroy’s friend, Zach Wilson, were also at the party.
The other guests included Alexander’s friends, Emily, Ameera Hussain and Marcus Painter. Marcus has invited a gamer friend of his to the party.
Before long it becomes clear to DS Roberts that the night has been very eventful and that every member of the family is hiding secrets. But which one led to Sharon’s death?
The story was well plotted and the description of the English town was good. The police are efficient as they chase leads. With each new lead, it seems as if another person gets added to the suspect list. The book was well written but the errors were annoying. There were many grammatical and proofing errors and typos. Barely was spelt as barley in Chapter 3. One character says that he ‘expected’ his neighbour of being involved in a crime. The right word was suspected.
The punctuation in sentences with direct speech also needed editing. As did the awkward possessives such as “he and Wood’s conversation,” “she and Campbell’s relationship” etc. I was particularly irritated with the use of the phrase, “get off of her.”
But nothing irritated me as much as the repeated use of the phrase, was sat on. Characters don’t seem to sit or stand of their own volition. Each time they “were sat on” or “were stood”. I cringed each time I saw some variation of this phrase.
A brief variation from the point of view takes us to the third person point of view of Sharon, beginning a few days before her death, helping us to see the fears and concerns that were uppermost in her mind.
The issue here is that the author should have first let the police figure out who the killer is and how and why the killing happened, then let us see the flashback from Sharon's pov.
Instead, the author first takes us on the flashback, then makes us watch the police fumble their way to the killer. Once we know how it happened, the police investigation is no longer of interest to us.
But then there were 42 people present at the party, including 25 men. How will DS Roberts ever identify the killer?
Younger sister Rebecca, brother Paul and mother Jackie are quick to blame Sharon’s partner, Leroy Campbell, former footballer with a troubled past. Jackie thinks that Leroy was cheating on Sharon with his ex-wife, Colette, who along with her 8-year-old son, Orlando, was present at the party. Sharon’s best friend, Beth Pendleton, and Leroy’s friend, Zach Wilson, were also at the party.
The other guests included Alexander’s friends, Emily, Ameera Hussain and Marcus Painter. Marcus has invited a gamer friend of his to the party.
Before long it becomes clear to DS Roberts that the night has been very eventful and that every member of the family is hiding secrets. But which one led to Sharon’s death?
The story was well plotted and the description of the English town was good. The police are efficient as they chase leads. With each new lead, it seems as if another person gets added to the suspect list. The book was well written but the errors were annoying. There were many grammatical and proofing errors and typos. Barely was spelt as barley in Chapter 3. One character says that he ‘expected’ his neighbour of being involved in a crime. The right word was suspected.
The punctuation in sentences with direct speech also needed editing. As did the awkward possessives such as “he and Wood’s conversation,” “she and Campbell’s relationship” etc. I was particularly irritated with the use of the phrase, “get off of her.”
But nothing irritated me as much as the repeated use of the phrase, was sat on. Characters don’t seem to sit or stand of their own volition. Each time they “were sat on” or “were stood”. I cringed each time I saw some variation of this phrase.
A brief variation from the point of view takes us to the third person point of view of Sharon, beginning a few days before her death, helping us to see the fears and concerns that were uppermost in her mind.
The issue here is that the author should have first let the police figure out who the killer is and how and why the killing happened, then let us see the flashback from Sharon's pov.
Instead, the author first takes us on the flashback, then makes us watch the police fumble their way to the killer. Once we know how it happened, the police investigation is no longer of interest to us.
August 12, 2020
Nice read. Very enjoyable. Keeps you guessing. If you like UK mysteries which I personally do, you will enjoy this book.
Having said that, I must clarify a few things which kept this book from receiving 5 stars.
The first is an overall need for proofreading. There are occasions where words are interchanged, making for a sentence that doesn't read right. For instance, the sentence I wrote previously being written as"....making sentence a that doesn't read right". There aren't too many of them, but there shouldn't be any.
Then we have Leroy stealing a Porsche and giving to Alexander for his birthday. Doesn't the UK require a Bill of Sale/Certificate of Title, a registration and license plates, all of which would, I assume contain a VIN number? How do you accomplish this with a stolen car? There is no explanation as to how they got around that.
And then at the end, when Rebecca runs through all of them and they all run around after her like a bunch of incompetent idiots acting like Keystone cops trying to catch her. Certainly put the UK police in a bad light.
And then, poor little Perkins, the only one to seemed to be at all fit, winds up losing his life trying to save the life of a murderess. That went over like a lead balloon for me.
Hopefully, none o the above faux pas's will appear in the next book by Mr. Penry, for that might result in my moving him to my authors non grata list.
Having said that, I must clarify a few things which kept this book from receiving 5 stars.
The first is an overall need for proofreading. There are occasions where words are interchanged, making for a sentence that doesn't read right. For instance, the sentence I wrote previously being written as"....making sentence a that doesn't read right". There aren't too many of them, but there shouldn't be any.
Then we have Leroy stealing a Porsche and giving to Alexander for his birthday. Doesn't the UK require a Bill of Sale/Certificate of Title, a registration and license plates, all of which would, I assume contain a VIN number? How do you accomplish this with a stolen car? There is no explanation as to how they got around that.
And then at the end, when Rebecca runs through all of them and they all run around after her like a bunch of incompetent idiots acting like Keystone cops trying to catch her. Certainly put the UK police in a bad light.
And then, poor little Perkins, the only one to seemed to be at all fit, winds up losing his life trying to save the life of a murderess. That went over like a lead balloon for me.
Hopefully, none o the above faux pas's will appear in the next book by Mr. Penry, for that might result in my moving him to my authors non grata list.
July 28, 2022
What a Party!
This was the best quick find book. I needed a prompt for a party in a readathon. I was looking for something not lengthy. The picture did not grab me but, party was in the title so I went with it. It started slow for me then took off. The police staff almost reminded me of The Three Stooges. The family was crazy! It was all kinds of foolishness going on. The police kept making me mad! Marcus was a class A creep! I can't believe Keiran invited him to Alexander's party. I was to the end of the book when I figured out who the culprit was. I didn't see it. It was a good read. I still don't know what to think about Sharon Watkins though.
This was the best quick find book. I needed a prompt for a party in a readathon. I was looking for something not lengthy. The picture did not grab me but, party was in the title so I went with it. It started slow for me then took off. The police staff almost reminded me of The Three Stooges. The family was crazy! It was all kinds of foolishness going on. The police kept making me mad! Marcus was a class A creep! I can't believe Keiran invited him to Alexander's party. I was to the end of the book when I figured out who the culprit was. I didn't see it. It was a good read. I still don't know what to think about Sharon Watkins though.
March 2, 2020
SPOILT BY TOO MANY ERRORS
I could not concentrate on the story because of the grammatical and typographical errors I came across. I suppose spending almost all my life in the printing industry and running my own typesetting company for twenty years has made me "picky". I thought the ellipsis was over used; three or more uses of it on every page. The word foot instead of feet as a plural. The use of ok instead of OK, etc. Sorry, I wish I could have been more positive. I may go back to the story some time to find out who the killer was.
I could not concentrate on the story because of the grammatical and typographical errors I came across. I suppose spending almost all my life in the printing industry and running my own typesetting company for twenty years has made me "picky". I thought the ellipsis was over used; three or more uses of it on every page. The word foot instead of feet as a plural. The use of ok instead of OK, etc. Sorry, I wish I could have been more positive. I may go back to the story some time to find out who the killer was.
April 26, 2023
The book was written well enough. I would give it a 3.5 starts for an interesting plot. It was too gritty for my taste. I would not care to read more of the series. It seems that at least one police officer will be killed in every volume, not to mention family members.
The author gives us a name, but is otherwise anonymous. That may be because he/she doesn't want her legitimate writing tainted by this travesty of basic grammar. I literally could not count the number of run-on sentences, along with some sentence fragments and numerous typo's.
The author gives us a name, but is otherwise anonymous. That may be because he/she doesn't want her legitimate writing tainted by this travesty of basic grammar. I literally could not count the number of run-on sentences, along with some sentence fragments and numerous typo's.
September 18, 2020
The grammar makes it a tough read. The story is good and the question of who the murderer is carries you til the end. The grammar "he text the boss" or the misuse of the word sat.."the boys were sat in the kitchen". Is this a type of British dialect? If so, I can see it in conversation but it is distracting in the rest if the book.
August 28, 2020
Suicide or Murder
This book is really well written and has excellent characterization. All were believable and complex. The story was suspenseful and the ending was a shock! I loved it.
This book is really well written and has excellent characterization. All were believable and complex. The story was suspenseful and the ending was a shock! I loved it.
February 19, 2023
Fantastic
Another fantastic book lots of twists
couldn't put it down. I love the way the author keeps you engaged with the storyline. The plot is really good the characters come to life. You can actually imagine yourself there. Looking forward to the next book
Another fantastic book lots of twists
couldn't put it down. I love the way the author keeps you engaged with the storyline. The plot is really good the characters come to life. You can actually imagine yourself there. Looking forward to the next book
February 5, 2020
Intriguing
Very good book. I really like police books and trying to solve the case. I figured this one out there quarters of the way. Very sad.
Very good book. I really like police books and trying to solve the case. I figured this one out there quarters of the way. Very sad.
February 9, 2020
Kept me guessing, really enjoyed this book. Would recommend.
February 24, 2020
Really good whodunnit. Great characters, it could’ve been anyone. Didn’t see the ending coming! Look forward to the next DS Jerome Roberts book.
March 15, 2020
Try it
I normally don't like stories set outside the US but this was a good one. Try it. It won't disappoint.
I normally don't like stories set outside the US but this was a good one. Try it. It won't disappoint.
September 25, 2020
The party is over.
I couldn't stop reading this book. The twist and turns are amazing. I would never would have guessed the ending. It was a very good mystery.
I couldn't stop reading this book. The twist and turns are amazing. I would never would have guessed the ending. It was a very good mystery.
October 5, 2020
Good Read
Enjoyed reading this book. I would have liked to have seen more excitement to keep me going, but good book nonetheless.
Enjoyed reading this book. I would have liked to have seen more excitement to keep me going, but good book nonetheless.
February 11, 2021
good mystery
May 3, 2021
Sorry Ending!
It is a terrible way to end a book. It should have been left the way Jerome realized who did it. I Iost interest when you gave it away before it was solved.
It is a terrible way to end a book. It should have been left the way Jerome realized who did it. I Iost interest when you gave it away before it was solved.
September 9, 2021
Great murder mystery
Even though I don't usually like stories that take place with British culture this one was pretty interesting. It kept you guessing until the end.
Even though I don't usually like stories that take place with British culture this one was pretty interesting. It kept you guessing until the end.
March 13, 2020
Well told novel (typos & some grammar excluded). Lots of “drugs sex and rock-n-roll,” a rape, murder and well you get it ... so did I earlier than some but it’s still too much for me. Don’t think I will be reading the next in series.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews