Cry To Me by J. A. Schneider
Book Blurb
Liddy Bell shot her husband - or did she? In the middle of a party she's giving with her guests just feet away? Liddy's sister Kim, a true crime writer, struggles to prove her sister innocent - and avoid falling for a man who might be dangerous...while trapped with five people in a house at night, without power in a hurricane.
Wyatt Bell was a powerful tech CEO; the party was to celebrate the purchase and restoration of his and Liddy's 1920s mansion. No one heard the shots that killed him and wounded Liddy. The band was loud and guests were scattered. When the police declare the crime a failed murder-suicide attempt and Liddy as their suspect, her sister Kim is devastated and insists it's a setup. Wyatt's handsome brother David and Liddy's closest friends try to help Kim investigate...but questions arise. Could Liddy have only pretended to be happy, snapped, and shot her husband? Above all, Kim's worst anguish is wondering if she ever really knew her sister...
With a hurricane approaching, the police put their investigation on hold, and those closest find themselves all under one roof. Relationships unravel, and Kim thinks, "This is terrifying. We're all five of us in this house. At night in a hurricane with no power...and a terrible feeling of menace. I can't shake it."
Cry To Me ⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book and my thanks to the author, J A Schneider and the team of BookSirens for the copy.
All views expressed in this review are my own and based on my reading of this book. Some of the initial comments were made as I progressed in this book and I have not tried editing them as it expresses my contiguous thoughts as I proceeded with the story.
I will come up front and say that as you sow so shall ye reap and this I say in a good way.
So the burden of satisfaction is transferred to JAS ( J A Schneider), having spoilt me earlier with the superb The Wife List.
(You can check out my review here -
https://sanjibsblogreads.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-wife-list-by-j-schneider-20th-feb.html )
I picked up this novel with a lot of expectation, considering the premise which to me seemed standard fare; just because I know what JAS is capable of.
I guess I did not read the blurb well enough where it said, "intense romantic suspense." Don't do romance too much in a novel other than as a side dish but that will be a part of this review.
Like other books that I read and review, I tend to write while I read along, with a lot of comments that come out in my final review are my actual feelings while going through the story chapter by chapter and while they may or may not paint a true complete picture of the overall story but provide a feel of the book. I also feel that anyone who reads my review including me, should likewise feel the story whether it is in their zone or not they get. I do not change the points in my final review either. So here goes.
This is a murder mystery which is happening while a full borne storm is brewing and passing through. So we have a storm coming and we have murders happening and nothing can beat that.
The story starts with an intense cry for help from one sister to another and the backdrop is a housewarming party, a lovely villa with a lovely vista. I have to appreciate JAS here as one who writes lovely locales which one tends to fall in love with. The party is on and in the midst we have a murder almost two or a suspected murder-suicide, etc. The wife survives and is prime suspect.
So far so good this is a straight forward story and then we find that the gust sister is a mystery novel writer and a daughter of a lawyer who was murdered which means we have a person who understands murder and also understands police procedurals and is able to foresee actions. The shock of seeing another murder in the family is traumatic and the portions are well written and the reader will be drawn right into living the story. We are also slowly introduced to the other characters in the story, the murdered husband and his dealings, his one time partner turned foe, a friend of the sisters who is the wife of the partner, a personal secretary staying in the same property who has had a fling with the murdered husband, a war veteran doctor younger brother with PTSD, the elder sister who I spoke about earlier a writer, a police detective who thinks this is open and shut and then has his doubts, and a storm that's threatening the city and we have a smorgasbord of emotions, actions and much of it in the confined space of a house. Everything that I liked in this story.
I would have been satisfied with this recipe. JAS decided she wanted more.
Which I did not appreciate in this story.
A comedy of foreseen happenstances. Ticking all the boxes where confusion is king.
This book which started off with a glorious background, following a call for help with a murder.
Most of the rest of the story pertains to how JAS wanting to add more to attract the Romance reading crowd for this book but stopping short of the full Monty both in the romance which to me seems contrived and the mystery which is mellow. The continuous half romantic half stalker-ish and hawkish romantic tirades by the brother are tiring to say the least always pushing a thought as if the brother had an agenda and it ain't kosher.
The decision should have had the story going down one or the other part not straddled on both.
Reaching the last quarter of the book and waiting for her to put the rabbit out.
I am happy to say that even though I had understood where the story was going in terms of the murder but still I have to say that JAS pulled the proverbial rabbit out of her hat here with the end to the mystery. She managed to give the story a healthy tweak which should enamor most of the crowd except the most hard core mystery munching readers. The romance also reaches foregone conclusions and the way JAS brought a recall to an earlier murder made this book worth reading.
I deducted a point for the needling romance. I am not against romance but having a couple of old enough people acting like rabbits or teenagers on hormones is not my idea of romance especially in the somber atmosphere.
But to each their own. This for me is a 3.5 star reading and a book and author that I can now recommend.
⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars
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