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Deuce Mora #4
Ill Wind
POE MEETS PUZO – THE WORLD’SFIRST LOCKED-ROOM MOB MYSTERY!Hard-hitting veteran reporter Deuce Mora is awakened in the pre-dawn hours and called to the scene of a gruesome hanging to identify the body of a dear friend, an FBI agent on the verge of taking down one of Chicago’s biggest Mob operations. Deuce knows it’s murder, but the authorities have no choice but to call it a suicide – the death scene was triple-locked from the inside.
And with that, author Heller, a former journalist and frequent Pulitzer nominee, takes her place with Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the great Edgar Allan Poe himself as one of the few authors ever to pull off a locked-room murder. In this one, half the fun is trying to figure out the locked-room puzzle. And the delight of finding one in a contemporary mob mystery.
The other half of course, is the tenacious Deuce herself, the tough, hard-boiled, and ever-human reporter who goes places the cops don’t even know about. And Heller’s intricate, action-packed mystery story.
The ill wind sweeping the Windy City has also whipped up two more unexplainable deaths – of perfectly healthy, able-bodied young mobsters,key witnesses about to flip on the top leaders of the Mob operation. Neither the Chicago police nor the FBI can come up with a cause of death – and they’ve looked at every kind of toxin – but our meticulous investigator, whose stock-in-trade is death-defying leaps of logic, fits together a couple of impossible puzzle pieces. The downside is that the bad guys figure out where their greatest exposure lies – and Deuce quickly becomes their new target.
Enter a Washington reporter who has been following the organized crime investigation for months at its source, in D.C. He and Deuce share a dark secret and he knows exactly where to apply pressure on her demons to keep her on the trail of her friend’s murderers. But as the Windy City begins to look more and more like the Chicago of Al Capone days, with bodies turning up in the river and shoot-outs in public places, Deuce discovers she couldn’t walk away even if she wanted to. Whoever is at the top – and this is Chicago, so the top is always way up – will stop at nothing to shut down this investigation.
WHO WILL LIKE First of all, fans of puzzle mysteries and locked rooms! Followed closely by admirers of get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, kickass female detective protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.
And with that, author Heller, a former journalist and frequent Pulitzer nominee, takes her place with Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the great Edgar Allan Poe himself as one of the few authors ever to pull off a locked-room murder. In this one, half the fun is trying to figure out the locked-room puzzle. And the delight of finding one in a contemporary mob mystery.
The other half of course, is the tenacious Deuce herself, the tough, hard-boiled, and ever-human reporter who goes places the cops don’t even know about. And Heller’s intricate, action-packed mystery story.
The ill wind sweeping the Windy City has also whipped up two more unexplainable deaths – of perfectly healthy, able-bodied young mobsters,key witnesses about to flip on the top leaders of the Mob operation. Neither the Chicago police nor the FBI can come up with a cause of death – and they’ve looked at every kind of toxin – but our meticulous investigator, whose stock-in-trade is death-defying leaps of logic, fits together a couple of impossible puzzle pieces. The downside is that the bad guys figure out where their greatest exposure lies – and Deuce quickly becomes their new target.
Enter a Washington reporter who has been following the organized crime investigation for months at its source, in D.C. He and Deuce share a dark secret and he knows exactly where to apply pressure on her demons to keep her on the trail of her friend’s murderers. But as the Windy City begins to look more and more like the Chicago of Al Capone days, with bodies turning up in the river and shoot-outs in public places, Deuce discovers she couldn’t walk away even if she wanted to. Whoever is at the top – and this is Chicago, so the top is always way up – will stop at nothing to shut down this investigation.
WHO WILL LIKE First of all, fans of puzzle mysteries and locked rooms! Followed closely by admirers of get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, kickass female detective protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2020
340 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Jean Heller
13 books53 followersMy mother once confronted my husband and me, put her hands on her hips, and asked, “Can’t one of you hold onto a job?”
She was joking – sort of. Both of us were journalists, and we kept getting better jobs, which required moving. A lot. Moving frequently is, I have discovered, a good way to avoid having to clean out the closets, the garage, and the cabinets under the kitchen sink.
Through it all, I have been one thing above all else, a writer.
I started my first novel when I was in the third grade, the story of people living at the center of the earth. I liked the concept, but I really didn’t have a good plot point, and when I discovered what it’s really like at the center of the earth, the project sort of went up in flames, so to speak.
My first complete novel, a thriller called “Maximum Impact,” was published by Forge, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, in 1993. My second, “Handyman,” came two years later. Both received great reviews from critics, and both will be available in Kindle editions in early 2015.
The new one, also a thriller, is called “The Someday File.” It is the first in what will be a series set in Chicago, a city I have loved since I was in college and which I have called home for years. I set it here because Chicago is such a great character in its own right. The stories I can build on these bones – quite literally in the case of “The Someday File” – have infinite possibilities.
_________________________________________________
Jean’s news career included serving as an investigative and projects reporter and editor for The Associated Press in New York City and Washington, D.C., The Cox Newspapers and New York Newsday in Washington, D.C. and the St. Petersburg Times in Washington, D.C. and Florida.
Jean has won multiple awards, including the Worth Bingham Prize, the Polk Award, and is an eight-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
She was joking – sort of. Both of us were journalists, and we kept getting better jobs, which required moving. A lot. Moving frequently is, I have discovered, a good way to avoid having to clean out the closets, the garage, and the cabinets under the kitchen sink.
Through it all, I have been one thing above all else, a writer.
I started my first novel when I was in the third grade, the story of people living at the center of the earth. I liked the concept, but I really didn’t have a good plot point, and when I discovered what it’s really like at the center of the earth, the project sort of went up in flames, so to speak.
My first complete novel, a thriller called “Maximum Impact,” was published by Forge, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, in 1993. My second, “Handyman,” came two years later. Both received great reviews from critics, and both will be available in Kindle editions in early 2015.
The new one, also a thriller, is called “The Someday File.” It is the first in what will be a series set in Chicago, a city I have loved since I was in college and which I have called home for years. I set it here because Chicago is such a great character in its own right. The stories I can build on these bones – quite literally in the case of “The Someday File” – have infinite possibilities.
_________________________________________________
Jean’s news career included serving as an investigative and projects reporter and editor for The Associated Press in New York City and Washington, D.C., The Cox Newspapers and New York Newsday in Washington, D.C. and the St. Petersburg Times in Washington, D.C. and Florida.
Jean has won multiple awards, including the Worth Bingham Prize, the Polk Award, and is an eight-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 2, 2021
I have now read all four of Jean Heller’s Deuce Mora novels and I have loved each and every one of them.
Each story is intriguing and each participating character is well thought out. Deuce is fantastic with flaws and emotions that draw you in, if she was a real person I would want her to be my friend although I haven’t noticed her having any female friends, perhaps something to work on in the future. Deuce’s likability is that she is human and really doesn’t go out of her way to get herself killed but always seems to wind up in the right place at the wrong time.
The inner workings of a newsroom I also found very complicated and interesting where one’s word is their bond and it is sacred.
I don’t know if a reporter could actually unravel clues better than the FBI but still it was believable.
And after all is said and done Deuce is self reflective and like any normal person who has been through hell decides to take a vacation with the love of her life. The big question is, will they get married in Tahiti? I for one can’t wait to find out!
Each story is intriguing and each participating character is well thought out. Deuce is fantastic with flaws and emotions that draw you in, if she was a real person I would want her to be my friend although I haven’t noticed her having any female friends, perhaps something to work on in the future. Deuce’s likability is that she is human and really doesn’t go out of her way to get herself killed but always seems to wind up in the right place at the wrong time.
The inner workings of a newsroom I also found very complicated and interesting where one’s word is their bond and it is sacred.
I don’t know if a reporter could actually unravel clues better than the FBI but still it was believable.
And after all is said and done Deuce is self reflective and like any normal person who has been through hell decides to take a vacation with the love of her life. The big question is, will they get married in Tahiti? I for one can’t wait to find out!
February 18, 2020
A real page turner
Jean Heller has done it again. Impossible to put Ill Wind down for a single second. Filled with twists and turns impossible to predict.
Book 4 does not burden readers with a rehash of previous adventures. References are made but only in passing. Ill Wind hits the pavement running and shocks readers of Ms. Heller's previous 3 Deuce Mora book series. The shock waves do not stop. Ever.
Creative. Imaginative. Compelling. Fast paced. Ruthless. Heartbreaking. Honest.
It was worth the wait. Well done!
Jean Heller has done it again. Impossible to put Ill Wind down for a single second. Filled with twists and turns impossible to predict.
Book 4 does not burden readers with a rehash of previous adventures. References are made but only in passing. Ill Wind hits the pavement running and shocks readers of Ms. Heller's previous 3 Deuce Mora book series. The shock waves do not stop. Ever.
Creative. Imaginative. Compelling. Fast paced. Ruthless. Heartbreaking. Honest.
It was worth the wait. Well done!
February 15, 2021
FANTASTIC!!!!!
Was interesting to see so much info on Sux .......which I seem to be allergic to, when I had my tonsils out years ago I had a bad reaction to it and have to always tell doctors prior to surgery to never use it on me. So was very interesting to read about it in depth.......Also I really like the "Wreck" at Potbelly...it is an awesome sandwich........ Very much enjoyed this 4 book series and I hope there will be "Mora" to come (LOL)
Was interesting to see so much info on Sux .......which I seem to be allergic to, when I had my tonsils out years ago I had a bad reaction to it and have to always tell doctors prior to surgery to never use it on me. So was very interesting to read about it in depth.......Also I really like the "Wreck" at Potbelly...it is an awesome sandwich........ Very much enjoyed this 4 book series and I hope there will be "Mora" to come (LOL)
September 30, 2024
another headline
This story line continues to make me wonder if the author lived through any of this?! And I hope all her bones are healed and that she also is mentally in a good place. I hope all of Deuce’s cases are not so wild, or damaging. Fantastic stories and adrenaline crunch. Incredibly sad when people: colleagues and friends die, in the line of fire. You are invested in these characters and will have moments of grief. I do tell myself they aren’t real, but i know those streets of Chicago and so much of the world has this kind of corruption. Stellar writing and intricate plot - the locked room to shakedowns and OK Coral.
This story line continues to make me wonder if the author lived through any of this?! And I hope all her bones are healed and that she also is mentally in a good place. I hope all of Deuce’s cases are not so wild, or damaging. Fantastic stories and adrenaline crunch. Incredibly sad when people: colleagues and friends die, in the line of fire. You are invested in these characters and will have moments of grief. I do tell myself they aren’t real, but i know those streets of Chicago and so much of the world has this kind of corruption. Stellar writing and intricate plot - the locked room to shakedowns and OK Coral.
June 27, 2020
Being from Chicago, I like reading these.. She reminds me of so many places in the city. She tackles a couple of "unexplainable " deaths one of them being a very dear friend of hers and some organized crime and a new characters reporter from DC. Chicago is beginning to look like the old days of Capone and Dillinger. Bodies dropping every time she turns around. Gun fights in the streets, bodies floating in the river, well you get the picture - or do you???
March 22, 2023
I really enjoyed the first three books in this series but, this one, not so much. I felt that the plot was so improbable and almost impossible- and I live in the Chicago area. Deuce is an amazing character, much like Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski, and that is a definite plus for me but even V.I. has never been in this circumstance, even though she has been around the literature for many more books. I think one can enjoy the series and not miss much by skipping this one.
June 20, 2024
Deuce Mora takes on the bad guys again. Organized crime in Chicago had no idea who they were messing with when they decided to take on Deuce.. When her close friend Carl was murdered she had to find out why and who ordered it.. A page turner from the start, the fourth book will not disappoint..
June 29, 2020
Amazingly well written book. Entertaining and enjoyable. I love Jean Heller and deuce mora!!
I can't wait for the next book in this series. Very entertaining and hard to put down! You will not be disappointed.
I can't wait for the next book in this series. Very entertaining and hard to put down! You will not be disappointed.
July 14, 2020
Ill Wind
Chicago and the mob Sounds like the 1930's but in this story it still exists and causes fear and people to disappear. Our ace reporter is determined to solve every murder and they seem to be related.
Chicago and the mob Sounds like the 1930's but in this story it still exists and causes fear and people to disappear. Our ace reporter is determined to solve every murder and they seem to be related.
October 26, 2020
The last of the 4 part series has Duce again delving into a murder (A locked Room mystery in real life) and ending up again the target of the bad guys, this time the head of an old time Chicago mob and a politician out to improve his position in the government.
February 6, 2021
Wow! Just wow!!
Book 4 did not disappoint!!. The story just pulled you along, unbelievable action. I hope Jean is not done with Deuce Mora. Could not put the book down until I turned to the last page.
Book 4 did not disappoint!!. The story just pulled you along, unbelievable action. I hope Jean is not done with Deuce Mora. Could not put the book down until I turned to the last page.
February 25, 2021
Mayhem and Murder
Ace reporter Deuce Mora becomes involved in another complicated crime in “Ill Wind”. With Mafia mayhem and murder from the beginning to the end of the story, it will be very hard to put this book down!
Ace reporter Deuce Mora becomes involved in another complicated crime in “Ill Wind”. With Mafia mayhem and murder from the beginning to the end of the story, it will be very hard to put this book down!
April 3, 2022
Great FBI thriller
This story kept you on your toes until the end. Love the main character Deuce. I've read several of her books and will continue to. Love the way the author writes with ease.
This story kept you on your toes until the end. Love the main character Deuce. I've read several of her books and will continue to. Love the way the author writes with ease.
May 24, 2024
Nice plot and charactors
Really liked the characters. Seemed real and interesting, Got a bit confused with the numbers of names but that probably occurred because of inconsistent reading.
Really liked the characters. Seemed real and interesting, Got a bit confused with the numbers of names but that probably occurred because of inconsistent reading.
June 30, 2020
WOW!
Great book! Riveting story. You'll read right through it. I did. There are a few typos here and there, but, generally, the grammar is good.
Great book! Riveting story. You'll read right through it. I did. There are a few typos here and there, but, generally, the grammar is good.
July 8, 2020
Ill Wind
I loved this book! Jean Heller has a way with telling a good story that I admire. Lots of mystery with some good clues dropped along the way. Great story!!
I loved this book! Jean Heller has a way with telling a good story that I admire. Lots of mystery with some good clues dropped along the way. Great story!!
July 24, 2021
Ill Wind - Deuce Mora Book 4 by Jean Heller.
Another great read.
Another great read.
November 28, 2021
Good Book
This was one of those books that you don’t want to put down. One of those books that you want to read until the end at one sitting
This was one of those books that you don’t want to put down. One of those books that you want to read until the end at one sitting
December 2, 2021
Action packed, enjoyable read.
December 29, 2021
Ill wind
Liked very much held! My attention. Love character. Enjoyed all her books. Look forward to The next one. Give it a10
Liked very much held! My attention. Love character. Enjoyed all her books. Look forward to The next one. Give it a10
July 18, 2022
Very entertaining, interesting read. I only have one suggestion! Don't hang out with Deuce Mora. It's too dangerous, even deadly.
April 17, 2023
Would an FBI agent really let two reporters help solve crimes? Other than that, there are interesting characters in this well edited book.
May 6, 2024
The author drew me in and kept me reading. I couldn’t put it down. This was my first of the series and I will be tracking back to read the others.
May 8, 2024
The Mafia is alive and well and Deuce is going to bring them down. Starts well and just keeps a cracking pace up, good story and characters.
May 27, 2024
good read
Too much description of Chicago. But well written and I enjoyed the lack of foul language. Read and decide for yourself.
Too much description of Chicago. But well written and I enjoyed the lack of foul language. Read and decide for yourself.
April 2, 2025
Superb!!
This was a book I couldn't put down! So very well written! I'm ready for more!!!Thanks for you're excellent work!
This was a book I couldn't put down! So very well written! I'm ready for more!!!Thanks for you're excellent work!
August 24, 2025
Another good one
Yes, another good mystery adventure . Fun and kept my interest. Give Deuce a try you will get to like her.
Yes, another good mystery adventure . Fun and kept my interest. Give Deuce a try you will get to like her.
March 14, 2024
This was pushing the envelope for me - Deuce can figure everything out, but not the cops, the medical examiner, not the FBI. Still, an intriguing story.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews