Ripples
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date (May 2017)
ISBN 10 - 1521250928
ISBN 13 - 978-1521250921
205 pages
I can honestly say that Robert Innes has quickly become one my my all-time favorite mystery authors, and the Blake Harte series is my second-favorite adult mystery series (coming very close to my number one series, Odelia Grey mysteries). If I had any doubts before, this mystery definitely sealed it for me.
Ripples is yet another murder mystery with an impossible murder. Five people look out a window and watch a hooded figure stare at a man in a fishing boat. Those same five people stare in awe as the hooded figure literally walks on the water out to the boat. Then those five witnesses watch in horror as the hooded figure stabs the man repeatedly, pushes him into the water. When they get outside, the hooded figure has disappeared, and the man is lying face down, floating in the water. Dead. They have just witnessed a murder - but how in the world could it have happened?
For anyone who read the previous two Blake Harte mysteries, you already know that Innes writes the most intriguing murder mysteries. Impossible crimes that, when ultimately explained, leave you in awe. First, it was a locked room mystery. Then, it was a confessional murder. Now, his characters are eyewitnesses to a murder - but can they actually believe what they saw?
Innes takes Blake away from Harmschapel and sends him on a surprise holiday to Manor of the Lakes - an old family manor turned into a spa. As fate would have it, his landlady sets up the whole trip as a way to send Blake and his young love, Harrison Baxter, on a romantic get-away in the hopes it will bring them together. Blake and Harrison agree to take the trip as friends, but the unexpected murder - as well as the unexpected appearance of Blake's ex-boyfriend! - puts a damper on the whole trip. What starts out as a holiday adventure turns into a crime-solving caper.
Readers will enjoy the budding relationship between Blake and Harrison, but for me, the true fun I got out of this book was trying to solve the mystery. There is one suspect who is painfully obvious from the moment the murder takes place; as for the rest, well, Innes certainly knows how to keep things unique, that's for sure! I mean, seriously - how can someone walk on water? And how does that person disappear in a matter of seconds? And when the murder victim is someone everyone hates anyway, how in the world do you begin to narrow down the suspects? A family feud ... a younger brother who is bullied by the victim ... a wife that is tired of watching her husband be bullied ... an employee who is treated unfairly and ultimately fired. Of course, leave it to Blake to figure it all out and one-up his former boss (the local police chief) by solving the mystery and unmasking the murderer.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering - Blake does finally get resolution with his ex by the end of this book, so moving forward, I'm hoping to see Blake and Harrison's relationship blossom (because it really would be nice to see a mystery series with a couple who are actually happy!).
RATING: 10 detailed model railways out of 10 for proving the impossible could very well be probable - and making it totally believable!
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