by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Fan Mail, a link to purchase it from Amazon.

Aspen Adams has custody of her niece, Candace. Becoming an instant mother to a teenage girl is hard to get used to. What is too strict, and what is too lenient? It’s time for school to get out for summer vacation. Fourteen is too old for camp but too young to be left on her own. Luckily, she has a friend whose mom can chaperone and chauffeur.

Aspen has other things to worry about, too. A call from her doctor says her test results are in, but no details were on the message. Now she’ll have to wait over the weekend to find out if her worry has been justified. Sadly, Aspen won’t get that news. The doctor was found murdered in her office, right after calling Aspen and hanging up abruptly.

Aspen works for her aunt’s private detective agency. Until now, she’s been serving summons, finding deadbeats, and searching for evidence in dumpsters. Now she’s been promoted, sort of, to helping with investigations. When a local news anchor, Gloria, received threats, she asks Aspen to help.

There are more deaths, each seemingly tailored to the victim—a scalpel, knife, scissors. More importantly, they all seem to revolve around Gloria who is getting more panicked every day. Each body is left with a note.

Candace is fascinated by the murders. Watching episodes of CSI have made her an expert, in her opinion. When Aspen is forced to have Candace along while investigating, a new problem arises. Candace has no concept of “confidential” or “undercover.” Could that put them both in danger?

This is the second book with these characters. It’s a fast-paced thriller, full of great characters. Aspen’s aunt may wear muumuus to work, but her thinking is nothing but professional when investigating. Aspen’s detective boyfriend, Nick, realizes she has a job to do too, but that job often causes conflicts between them. Candace? She’s a typical teen, in love, broken-hearted, and back in love, all within an hour’s time. Aspen is lenient. Most parents would have grounded Candace for life several times for her antics.

This is a tale that will keep readers saying, “just one more chapter,” well into the night. Day of Secrets, the first book, was reviewed here.

To enter to win a copy of Fan Mail, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “fan,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 28, 2019. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. We delete all emails after the contest is over.

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Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.