The Alibi by Nikki Lee Taylor Review ARC
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stars
Book Blurb
How far would you go to protect what you love?
He’s handsome, charming, and the city’s beloved Mayor. He’s also a cheating husband. But is he a killer?
When a surfer discovers the gruesome remains of council staffer Lauren Ellis in sand dunes just metres from Lord Mayor Andrew Ashley’s beachside home, rumours of his close relationship with the victim quickly begin to circulate.
Andrew’s secret affair with local newspaper reporter Elle Nolan is proof he can be an unfaithful husband – but is he also guilty of murder?
As the search for answers continues, Andrew refuses to tell police where he was the night of Lauren’s death.
When Andrew reaches out to Elle from police lock-up begging her to provide an alibi for the night in question, she quickly realises that instead of just reporting the story, she’s about to become irrevocably entangled in it.
The Alibi Review
I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book and my thanks to the team of BookSirens and the author 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.
The book blurb showed a good premise for a murder thriller which hooked me. This is in sync with my exploring new authors and books within the thriller format and is my first book by the author.
The rating is closer to 3.5 stars but with higher returns of recollection with the story hence rated at 4 stars.
When I started reading the book I was in for a pleasant surprise, the chapter names were all in the names of the principal characters from the story and the chapter were written from the point of view of that character. While it was interesting, down the road it became a bit tedious to keep track but helped me in keeping abreast with the storyline. Casual readers may find this a bit inconveniencing. The book gives more than enough thrill for readers.
One of our principal characters is the Lord Mayor of the city is a fresh politician but old time hunk and popular amongst the ladies. He is adamant on preventing commercial utilization of beaches and that has been his war cry for his position. Body parts turn up in the beach and the mystery starts. The story has many components with the principal being development, commercialization, the Mayors roving eye and the murder that has happened.
Hiding parts of information leads to deeper investigation by the police. We have a police officer who also has a soft heart for the community and this has put her and her boss in a spot of bother with IA. We have the local upcoming journalist in love with the Mayor and a senior journalist wanting center stage. The Mayor's family relationships are also transactional and strained.
All the above make for a potpourri of a story and with most of the characters fleshed out a bit and their interactions and transactions spelled out makes for a deeper understanding of the story and provides it with nuances and levels beyond the simple murder mystery that it ultimately is.
I liked the way Nikki Taylor, the author, has harnessed the use of multiple points of view to give the reader a complex picture to chew and also the story which had a reasonable mystery and also gave the reader a chance to know who the possible killer would be despite the red herrings which would befuddle most readers. Also appreciable is the fact that Nikki was able to juggle so many characters simultaneously and being able to do reasonable justice for all of them. I also felt that the character wise points of views was interesting as I like a bit of challenge while reading a book in the thriller genre, something that helps push my mind. The story showcases murder but keeps most of the crime off screen so would be palatable to most readers.
What I felt could have been improved was a bit of more editing in the story. The story line dragged about on and on about the endangered species in the book and which could have been trimmed. The background of Elle Nolan the upcoming journalist and her famous father is also dragged a bit too much unless this is characterization to expand this into a series starring her or the troika of heroines in this book. The ending was also predictable and abrupt. the multiple points of view through the characters while novel is also a bit tedious and could put off casual readers.
I would recommend this book to readers.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stars
Recommended
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