A Taste of Murder


Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
180 Pages
Reviewed on 10/28/2016
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

A Taste of Murder is a police procedural murder mystery written by Jack Wear. Oscar Detrick was not altogether a pleasant person to deal with, and he had made his fair share of enemies in the wine agency world, but no one could have predicted his death by poison during the Stony Hills Wine Festival. It was in the early, quiet time before the doors opened for the last day of the festival that the imposing and somewhat portly wine agent and sommelier began to prepare the booth he and his partner were manning in the Summer Spirits agency. They had a prime location at the festival, owing to Oscar's heavy-handed dealings with the festival organizer, and several of his fellow booth-holders gritted their teeth at his airy greetings, but no one was around when he sampled a wine that had been opened the day before to make sure it hadn't spoiled overnight. It had a strange taste that Oscar couldn't quite place, but then he felt a terrible burning sensation in his stomach.

Jack Wear's police procedural novel, A Taste of Murder, introduces detectives Moss Stone and Anya Roberts, and watching as they work against time to solve the murder of the unpopular victim is a rare treat. Stone has his own philosophy and deductive method called the Reverse Quantum Effect wherein the environment of a crime scene actually absorbed clues -- a method his colleagues found ridiculous even as they grudgingly acknowledged his impressive rate of closing cases. Wear's detective duo has an added bit of tension between them due to some history before they were assigned as partners, which intensifies the enjoyment of following them as they attempt to narrow in on a suspect. Wear's plot is first-rate, and he gives the armchair sleuth any number of possible suspects to ponder. His wine festival setting is loads of fun as well, and had me seriously considering checking out the next one in my neck of the woods. I'm looking forward to seeing Stone and Roberts at work in the future. A Taste of Murder is most highly recommended.