Review of The Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection by Barbara Venkataraman

The Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection By Barbara Venkataraman  Publication Date: 17th December 2015 Publisher: Createspace Publishing Pages: 360 Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller Format: Paperback Source: Author 
Amazon UK / Amazon US

"Death by Didgeridoo"-Winner of the Indie Book of the Day award. Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It's up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it's too late. It doesn't help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn't commit. 

"The Case of the Killer Divorce"-Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, has returned to her family law practice after a hiatus due to the death of her mother. It's business as usual until a bitter divorce case turns into a murder investigation, and Jamie's client becomes the prime suspect. When she can't untangle truth from lies, Jamie enlists the help of Duke Broussard, her favorite private investigator, to try to clear her client's name. And she’s hoping that, in his spare time, he can help her find her long-lost father. 

"Peril in the Park"-There's big trouble in the park system. Someone is making life difficult for Jamie Quinn's boyfriend, Kip Simons, the new director of Broward County parks. Was it the angry supervisor passed over for promotion? The disgruntled employee Kip recently fired? Or someone with a bigger ax to grind? If Jamie can't figure it out soon, she may be looking for a new boyfriend because there’s a dead guy in the park and Kip has gone missing! With the help of her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie must race the clock to find Kip before it’s too late. 

I was thrilled when Barbara asked if I wanted to read her three books mainly as I loved the blurbs as soon as I read them and I have been loving reading mystery type books lately. As this is the first book in the Jamie Quinn Collection, it gives you a lot of background information on the characters and their situations but it doesn't take away the true theme of the novel.  Jamie's mother sadly passed away not long ago and left her, her house where Jamie has been living and hiding away since. Being a lawyer was all Jamie had wanted but lately she hasn't had the drive or need for working, that is until her cousin Adam is prime suspect in a murder.  So, Jamie is thrown back into the world of work, determined to prove that Adam is innocent and that someone else had reason and motive to kill his music teacher. With the help of her best friend, Grace who is a lawyer just like her and was such a great character to read about and Duke who was Jamie's client turned PI who owes her a favour that she wants to cash in.  I loved Jamie's need to protect Adam, not only due to his disability but due to the fact that she knew he wouldn't be capable of hurting anyone let alone someone who he thought he world of. Out of all the relationships/friendships that Jamie has in the book, my favourite would have to be the one her and Duke have. The way they are with each other is more like brother and sister than lawyer and client.  Death by Didgeridoo is an amazing book that I finished in one sitting, with it thrilling storyline and imaginative characters I wanted to live inside their world. It is a book that shows the true meaning of friendship, family and of course the law, even if it is slightly unconventional. 

Thrilling, Legendary and Funny. 

As soon as I read the first book I started the second immediately, it has been quite a while since a book has gripped my attention like this one did. The book picks up a year after the first one and Jamie is back practising law, working for herself she is able to work the hours she wants and choose the clients that she wants.  Jamie is representing a young woman who is going through a nasty divorce with her husband and they are trying to sort out the custody and arrangements for their two small daughters. So, when the ex-husband of the woman Jamie is representing turns up died, it is a shock for everyone involved even more so when the police change the cause of death from accident to murder.  Jamie decides to use her own methods and hires her good friend, Duke to look into the death and the people of interest, hoping to get to the bottom of this. Although it isn't long before lies come to the surface and everyone involved is pushed to the breaking point.  While this book is a mystery book, it has an added thing that the first one didn't have...romance. Jamie runs into her old flame, Kip whilst she is working and he asks her out of a date, I loved the connection that they have even though they have been apart for so long, it is still fresh and exciting.  The Case of The Killer Divorce is another great book in the Jamie Quinn series that makes you love the characters a bit more and fall deeper into their stories as the book progresses. With the mystery, romance and murder, it shows that combining all three makes one hell of a book. 

Shocking, Amazing and Exciting. 

Peril In The Park picks up about six months after the second book ended and things seem to be looking up for Jamie for a change. She has a great boyfriend not to mention hot, her job is becoming more enjoyable again and she has some great friends who she can rely on for personal and professional support. 

That is until Jamie receives an email from someone called I-C-U and they seem to be threatening her and her boyfriend, Kip. Although when Jamie tells Kip about the email, he reveals that there are other things going on in his work that are not all they seem to be. Add in the park vandal that is going around all the parks that Kip is in charge of and destroying or marking things, is just the icing on the cake.

Unsure where to turn, Jamie calls in her friend Duke who is a Private Investigator to do a bit of digging around to find out any information that could help understand the reasons and why strange things were happening. 

Just like in the previous books, I love the banter and connection that Duke and Jamie have, it is funny yet endearing to read about at the same time. They are like a brother and sister duo, it adds something else to this amazing book which is why I love it. 

There is also the small issue of Jamie's father who only just found out about her and has applied to live in the United States, when things on that end don't go as planned, Jamie's best friend Grace is there to help. Grace's connections and knowledge helps Jamie come up with the answers on what to do now and a way forward. 

Peril In The Park has mystery and a thrilling storyline that keeps you guessing until the end trying to figure out who and what is going on. I can't wait to read more about Jamie Quinn and the people who make her who she is, in fact I have just downloaded the fourth book the series which I will be reading soon! 

Mysterious, Unexpected and Humorous

 Another day, another book,