Beyond a Doubt (A Carol Childs Mystery Book 2)
By: Nancy Cole Silverman
Rating: 5 of 5
“Beyond A Doubt” is the second in the Carol Childs mystery series by Nancy Cole Silverman. Carol is a reporter for a local radio station which seems to be located in Culver City, California. While some of the directions to and from the station (and to a degree, around the Southland) seem a little off to me (I lived in Culver City for almost 30 years and got to know the lay of the land fairly well), the vibe and the personalities of the individuals in the story are dead on for the area.
In this story, Carol has been tasked with reporting on the rash of missing young women and girls who have disappeared in recent months. The story begins with her reporting of the finding of a body of one of the young women, the daughter of a local and prominent judge. The story involves the requisite “whodunnit” which is solved fairly early and then turns on the how and why it was done.
There are a good number of fun and funny characters but the heart of the story is actually dark and troubling – the sex trafficking of young women.
There are really funny points as the AM news radio station Carol works at blends with a FM rock station and then changes its format to “chick-light” due to new owner requirements. Carol is caught in the middle of this as she is actively pursuing the story which is anything but light. It was fairly obvious that the author knows a lot about radio and its personalities and was able to provide an education on the subject matter in a light and fun way.
I thought the characters were interesting and funny. The portrayal of out of work actors trying to catch a break hit home for me (I lived a couple of blocks from Sony Studio which was also the old MGM Studio).
I enjoyed the story and plan to read the first in the series (which I have already purchased.) This book can easily be read stand-alone but I think the characters may be more fully explained once I have read the first book.
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Henery Press, via Netgalley.
“Beyond A Doubt” is the second in the Carol Childs mystery series by Nancy Cole Silverman. Carol is a reporter for a local radio station which seems to be located in Culver City, California. While some of the directions to and from the station (and to a degree, around the Southland) seem a little off to me (I lived in Culver City for almost 30 years and got to know the lay of the land fairly well), the vibe and the personalities of the individuals in the story are dead on for the area.