Looking For a Good Book

Jake and Laura, who have become my favorite detecting couple, are up to their necks in another mystery in Michael Murphy’s Wings in the Dark.

Now married and off to have some alone time for their honeymoon, Jake and Laura are trying to enjoy their anonymity when their friend Amelia Earhart, who is planning a record-breaking feat (which could do much to galvanize a country that’s been rocked by the depression) asks for their help when she’s surrounded by murder and sabotage.  Anonymity was nice when they were trying to lie low and relax, but when they get involved in helping their friend, seeking assistance from the local police becomes a challenge.

Author Murphy does an absolutely fantastic job of taking historical moments and figures and blending in a mystery story that has all the excitement and toughness of a period detective story while appealing to the modern reader.  In this book Murphy shines by placing the action in a more confined area — the island of Hawaii — while presenting a much broader story arc; and the savvy reader will understand the implications and how Jake and Laura have been placed at the precipice of the second world war.

It’s difficult to pin-point just what it is about a Jake & Laura Mystery novel that appeals  In the first book, I think I was definitely attracted to the characters — specifically the real figures in history and how much fun Murphy had with them.  Though real historical figures appear in the second book, I was definitely more attracted to the story and the development of the main characters.  This third book builds on all of these things, as well as building on the historical events of the period and weaving in Jake and Laura, making them integral to history as we know it.  It is fascinating, and it is fun.

I read a lot of good books, but there are very few books or authors for whom I will buy their newest release, without question.  Michael Murphy and the Jake & Laura series has joined that rank of ‘must buys.’  The only downside?  The books appear to only be released in electronic format, meaning I can’t very easily share them with friends and get them hooked on the series as well.

Looking for a good book?  If the Jake & Laura Mystery series isn’t already on your “must have” list, it should be, and Wings in the Dark soars at the top of a crowded field of mystery series’.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Wings in the Dark

author: Michael Murphy

series: A Jake and Laura Mystery #3

publisher: Alibi

ISBN: 0553393375

ebook, 214 pages