Over the years, I’ve read most of Lissa Marie Redmond’s Cold Case Investigation mysteries, set in Buffalo, Iceland, Ireland. I’ve followed Buffalo Police Detective Lauren Riley wherever she went with her intriguing cases. In Catch Your Death, she goes no further than Western New York over the Thanksgiving holidays. But, this country house murder mystery is the best in the series.
Seventeen years earlier, Jessica Toakase was murdered. There were seven primary suspects, all former classmates who just graduated. One of those classmates was Shane Reese. When no one was arrested, Shane enlisted. Now, he’s Lauren’s partner on the Cold Case unit, and her housemate in her house. He took care of her when she was injured in the line of duty. She’s taken care of him. But, he never told her about the Jessica Toakase cold case.
When Chris Sloane shows up at a restaurant where Shane and Lauren are eating, the former classmate invites both of them to his new luxury resort. It’s not yet open, and, they along with other former classmates will be the only guests Thanksgiving weekend. Afterwards, Shane is forced to confess he’s been looking into the cold case ever since he joined the team. Lauren has to remind him he was a suspect, and shouldn’t investigate. But, she can look at the case and hope to clear her partner’s name.
Lauren keeps that cold case in mind when she meets Shane’s former classmates. The bar that night is an uneasy affair, and one classmate stirs the fire saying there’s evidence to prove who Jessica’s killer was. When the accuser is found brutally slain, Lauren tries to secure the scene. It’s only when she calls the State Police that she learns Western New York is under a State of Emergency, and hundreds were caught on the New York Thruway during the weekend snowstorm. Lauren can’t even count on Shane because he knows all the suspects, and was a suspect himself in Jessica’s murder seventeen years earlier. “It’s not like I’m trapped in a half-finished resort with a dead body and seven potential suspects, with no weapon and no back up, she thought bitterly. Oh, that’s right, actually I am.”
Not that this scenario of being trapped with a cast of killers hasn’t been done before. Yes, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None immediately comes to mind. But, Redmond brings an expertise to her books, having worked as a detective on a Special Victims Unit and a Cold Case Homicide Squad. Her knowledge of investigations is evident as Lauren Riley tries to investigate a cold case and a current one under the worst possible conditions.
It’s hard to know where Redmond is going after Catch Your Death. Despite the tension and suspense in this book, I will say, though, that it was a pleasure to see Lauren solve this case without further serious injury to her or Shane. Fans of riveting police procedurals really should try Lissa Marie Redmond’s books. And, Catch Your Death is outstanding.
LIssa Marie Redmond’s website is https://lissamarieredmond.com/
Catch Your Death by Lissa Marie Redmond. Severn House, 2022. ISBN 9780727891327 (hardcover), 240p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I requested a galley from the publisher, with no promise of a positive review.
I must admit that I was totally aware of this series, but I like the setting and the idea of the series, so might try and squeeze one in if I get a chance.
Buffalo? How can anyone like Buffalo, Jeff? I like the series, though.
Totally Unaware it was supposed to be. I like unusual regional settings rather than Buffalo specifically. And Iceland yet again!
Yes, Iceland seems to be a popular location lately.
I like this series a lot, though I think I’m only up to #3 or so. I need to catch up because this one appeals a lot. What is it about these ‘locked room’ or ‘island’ mysteries that I love so much? Who knows? Anyway, I did meet this author a mystery conference and enjoyed talking with her and listening to her thoughts at an event there. I agree that she knows her stuff because of her background. Thanks for reviewing this one, Lesa. Adding it to my ‘must’ list.
I don’t know, Kay, but I’m right there with you. I think it has to be something with the classic mysteries we read when we were younger. Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr conditioned me to like those “locked room”, “island”, and country house mysteries.