Murder In One Take

Det. Blake Ervansky is first on the scene when an Oscar-winning star is shot by his ex-lover. As lead cop on the case, Ervansky has everything he needs to put away Ali Garland: motive, weapon, videos of the murder and a dozen eyewitnesses, one of whom is his partner of less than 24 hours, Sgt. Maureen O’Brien. This is LA, the beating heart of show biz, though, so nothing is as it seems, even Ervansky’s new partner. Ali Garland appears to have been justified in defending herself with lethal force, but could this wide-eyed ingénue be the architect of an airtight double fake? Has she really pulled off the perfect murder? Ervansky and O’Brien will only unravel her skein of deceit when they turn to the same Hollywood magic that convinces audiences aliens can phone home, talking clown fish do search and rescue, and every hooker is just a nice girl waiting for the right millionaire.

April Kelly

Murder In One Take (Police Procedural)

By April Kelly & Marsha Lyons

Flight Risk Books

ISBN #978-0615645339

Price $12.95

324 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“You’ll really Not Want To Put This Book Down.”

Detective Blake Ervansky has just met his new partner, Sergeant Maureen O’Brien, and their first assignment together is to arrest a felon. But things quickly go haywire. Before they can reach the felon, a woman shoots and kills a man right in front of them. The victim is a popular actor, and the shooter, also an actress, was his lover. It looks like an open and shut case from the very beginning, and the reader knows who the killer is. Making the arrest, the woman tells them she thought the man was a stalker, mistaking her ex-lover for the stalker. All the clues point in that direction, but Sergeant O’Brien tells her partner the woman is lying. They can’t prove it, and the Grand Jury refuses to indict her. The father of the murder victim asks the governor to have Ervansky and O’Brien put on leave from the Beverly Hills Police Department, and into his employ to find the proof of guilt on the shooter.

Marsha Lyons

Although Detective Ervansky and Sergeant O’Brien are the main characters, there are many interesting side characters, well-drawn and fleshed out. There is a lot of good police work, some good guesses on the part of the investigators, and a bit of humor to keep the story from bogging down in too much dark seriousness that clutters so many mystery novels today. The writing is intelligent and excellently paced, the dialogue believable – and humorous. The copy I read was well edited.  There was one big problem, however, the novel had no chapters! I had to read the book in one setting, because I could never find a breaking point! Just kidding. This was a fun read, and I highly recommend it to all mystery lovers. You really may not want to put it down.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories