Good Reads: Guaranteed To Bleed

Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Guaranteed To Bleed is the second book in The Country Club Murders series. It is a well written and professionally edited, full length mystery novel.

The heroine is a widow (the first book was about her husband's murder) and part of the Kansas City country club set. She has been programmed to deny her feelings and hide any unpleasantness in her life by her controlling mother and promiscuous late husband.

In Guaraneed the h stumbles upon the body of a teenager under the bleachers at a high school football game. She finds herself and her daughter embroiled in a murder investigation, while she dodges the lawyer her matchmaking mother has decided should be her next husband. And there's the handsome police detective that keeps getting drawn into her life by the murders she stumbles upon.

The mystery was complex and fast paced; and the characters well developed. I was disappointed to see that the h was still allowing her mother to manipulate her. With everything she's been through she should have developed the strength to break free of outside influences.

All in all, Guaranteed To Bleed is a satisfying read with a HFN ending. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

ARC provided by Henery Press via Netgalley.

Good Reads: The Deep End

The Deep End by Julie Mulhern
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Deep End is a very well written and professionally edited murder mystery. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down.

The heroine is a country club wife, barely existing while under the thumbs of her philandering husband and manipulative mother. Only her art gives her hope. When she discovers the body of her husband's mistress she becomes the prime suspect in a series of murders. She decides she must solve the murders in order to prove her innocence.

At times I was annoyed with the h's passivity, but she did begin to grow stronger as the plot developed. The secondary characters were interesting, especially the two men that become romantic interests.

The plot was full of twists and turns. It held my interest and at times contained a quirky humor. I didn't figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed.

I highly recommend The Deep End and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

ARC provided by Henery Press via Netgalley.