Murder and Kidnapping in a Storm
I appreciate it when authors try something new. Annette Dashofy did that in Helpless, the twelfth Zoe Chambers Mystery. While I still enjoyed the book, it wasn’t quite as good as normal for me.
When the book opens, Pennsylvania is bracing for the remnants of a hurricane. While it will have been downgraded to a tropical storm by then, the area is already saturated with rain, so massive flooding is expected.
The last thing that Zoe and her husband, Pete, the chief of police, needs is a massive manhunt. But that’s what they get when they are called to a horrific scene. A woman has been murdered and her husband left for dead on their farm while the perpetrator has kidnapped their girl. While Zoe originally goes to the scene because of her job as deputy coroner, she stays to help with the husband, who is a friend of hers. After all, she used to be a paramedic. Can Pete find the missing girl? Or will the perpetrator escape through the storm?
This series is not one of my typical cozies. I know this when I pick them up. Sometimes, that means they get darker than I normally enjoy. This was one of those times. That was one of my issues with the book, and that is definitely on me.
As always with this series, we split time equally between Pete and Zoe. Normally, I love that and it increases the tension. Ironically enough, in this book that was designed as a more of a thriller than a straight mystery, I found that slowed things down. Zoe’s scenes weren’t as compelling to me as Pete’s scenes.
Again, this isn’t to say the book is bad. On the contrary, I got caught up in the story and couldn’t wait to pick it up and see exactly what was going to happen next. We reached a satisfying climax at the end.
As you know, I seem to have an internal timeline when I’m reading a novel. I often catch timeline errors. This book all takes place over the course of one very long day. I didn’t find any errors in the timeline while I was reading.
The storm was a constant presence as well, making me feel water logged as I was reading.
All of this was part of the author’s attempt to create more of a thriller than the mysteries she typically writes. Of course, I’d argue that she often sneaks elements of thrillers into her books. I’m sure that helped because the elements really did work to create a thrilling read.
Given all of this, we didn’t see quite as much of the series regulars as we might normally. But Pete and Zoe are still front and center, and I enjoyed spending time with them, and we got a few scenes with others of the regulars. Plus, I found the updates we got on one ongoing storyline very interesting. I can’t wait to see where we go with that.
Fans of the series will still be Helpless to skip this book. I am glad that I read it even if it isn’t my favorite in the series.
Be sure to read the rest of the Zoe Chambers Mysteries.
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