Checking the Traps
by Joan Livingston
Synopsis:
Isabel Long is a bit banged up from her last case with a broken collarbone and her arm in a sling. But that doesn’t stop her from pouring beer at the Rooster Bar or taking her third case with Gary Beaumont, a local drug dealer who once terrorized her. Gary is convinced his brother didn’t jump off a bridge known for suicides. Somebody pushed him.
Gary’s brother was a boozer who drove for a highway crew. But what interests Isabel and her ‘Watson’ — her 93-year-old mother who lives with her — is that the man wrote poetry.
The chief suspects are one of Gary’s business associates and a famous poet who plagiarized his brother’s poetry for an award-winning book. Yes, he was that good.
As a journalist, Isabel did regular meetups with her sources for stories. She called it checking the traps. She does the same as a private investigator, and this time, she’ll make sure she doesn’t get caught in one.
Christie’s Review
5 STARS
What a fantastic read!!!! I have read a lot of mysteries, but this one has to be one of my favorites I have read in a while!!! It’s a great mystery with characters I won’t soon forget.
Isabel is one heck of a character. She is older, but the only reason I would know that is when the author describes her…and her older mother and children and grandchildren. She is in better shape than some women half her age. She lives a very full life, and she proves age is just a state of mind. She is sassy, sexy, and independent. The best part is her 93-year-old mother is her partner!!!!!
Now, that you know what great characters are in the pages of the book, the plot is just as good! Gary Beaumont has hired her to look into the death of his half-brother, Cary, six years ago. It was thought to be a suicide, but Gary thinks someone pushed him. This turns to be quite a complicated case with twists and turns I didn’t see coming.
This is a part of the series, and I haven’t read the other books yet I wasn’t lost. I fell in love with the way Livingston writes, and her character development is unreal. If you are looking for a great mystery with quirky, memorable characters, you can’t go wrong with this book!
Purchase Links:
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Checking-Traps-Isabel-Long-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07NDFKS59
US – https://www.amazon.com/Checking-Traps-Isabel-Long-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07NDFKS59
Author Bio
Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Checking the Traps, published by Crooked Cat Books, is the third in the mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. The first two are Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge.
An award-winning journalist, she started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure.
After eleven years in Northern New Mexico, she returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long mystery series.
Social Media Links –
Website: www.joanlivingston.net.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/
Twitter: @joanlivingston
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author
Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston
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