Killing Secrets: A Nan Vining Mystery
By: Dianne Emley
Rating: 5 of 5
“Killing Secrets” is the latest entry in the Nan Vining mystery series by Dianne Embley. While it is the first of her books that I have read, it was not at all difficult to read it as a stand-alone book. I could tell from references in the story that there was a long and varied back history for the characters.
In this story, Detective Nan Vining is called to the scene of a possible murder-suicide. It turns out that Nan’s daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were the ones to find the horrific scene. It also turns out that Nan had no idea that her daughter even had a boyfriend.
It all becomes personal when Nan is pulled off the case and individuals with less experience are put in charge. It also becomes apparent that a big-time cover up may be underway at the Pasadena Police Department. Nan feels compelled to investigate further and the story takes off from that point.
I’m sure that the depth of the characters could only have been enhanced if I had read the previous books in this series. For that reason, I would recommend that someone read them in order. I certainly enjoyed the strong character of Nan Vining and could really appreciate her troubles with her teenage daughter(having raised two of my own.) The author also has portrayed Southern California in a way that is very familiar and accurate to me (as I lived there for many years.)
I found the plot interesting and the solution made sense. I did figure it out fairly early in the book as the author left clues, one of which I was able to pick up on immediately. I still enjoyed reading the book and the moments of suspense as Nan worked her way to the answer of the “whodunnit.”
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Alibi (Random House LLC), via Netgalley.
“Killing Secrets” is the latest entry in the Nan Vining mystery series by Dianne Embley. While it is the first of her books that I have read, it was not at all difficult to read it as a stand-alone book. I could tell from references in the story that there was a long and varied back history for the characters.