Prudence Davies is one of
Ellison Jones' least favorite people on earth. She's vindictive. She's mean.
And the two share a twisted history. Or, they did.
When Prudence is murdered after a very public spat, Ellison finds herself a
murder suspect. Worse, the investigating officer has it in for Ellison's
homicide detective husband.
Old secrets. Old lies. New drama.
Can Ellison find the killer or will the bad blood between her and Prudence mean
the end to all she holds dear?
In Bad Blood, main character Ellison Jones is arrested for the murder of Prudence Davies by a homicide detective, who doesn’t like her husband Anarchy, who is also a homicide detective working out of the same station. Ellison has been targeted to take the blame. Someone close, who knew she kept her gun in a nightstand, stole it and used it as the murder weapon. It was common knowledge that she disliked Prudence, who dallied with her late husband. Prudence drew Ellison into a loud argument by the country club swimming pool the day before. Ellison must save herself without Anarchy’s help. He’s been warned not to interfere in the case.
I hope I’m wrong. But I fear I’m not. Bad Blood is Julie Mulhern’s twentieth novel in the Country Club Murder mystery series, and I think it is the last book. Prudence, the victim, is Ellison Jones’s nemesis, stemming from the first book in the series, The Deep End. Julie has brought the series around full circle. Ellison started out a married woman with low self-esteem in a loveless, conventional marriage. She was henpecked by her domineering mother. After her lousy husband Henry was murdered, Ellison stood firm as a single mother and a financially successful artist. When she was forced to solve murders, her self-esteem grew, as did her ability to stand up to her mother. But she found true love in police detective Anarchy Jones, married him against her mother’s wishes, and solved murders.
Ellison Jones’s dilemmas and conflicts have been solved. Even her mother is now a softer, gentler person, treating Ellison with the respect she deserves. Another reason I think this is the last book is that Julie introduces a new historical mystery series at the end of Bad Blood. Although I can understand Julie wanting a new series, I will hate to see this one go. It’s humor and irony made for great reading.
I can understand your regret at seeing a beloved series end, but better it end when you still enjoy it than have it peter out with less-enjoyable stories because the author lost interest or ran out of good ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhether Julie writes one or two series, a reread or new exploration will be fun.
ReplyDeleteWhile it's always sad to see a series end, it's much better to have it come to its natural conclusion than make any attempts to keep it going only to see it fade away.
ReplyDeleteA series has to end on an upbeat note.
ReplyDeleteI hope Julie isn't ending this, but if she decides to do so, I'm sure her next will be stellar.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review, Elaine. Hopefully, if it is the end of the series, Julie is going on to something that has sparked some new interest for her as a writer.
ReplyDeleteI imagine her readers might let her know what they'd like. I have two series, and now I'm leaving the second one and going back to the first. Time will tell, won't it?
ReplyDelete