At the center of Abby Reilly ‘s narrative in EASY PROMISES is the brutal murder of Sean Murphy, co-founder of prestigious Philadelphia law firm Murphy, Murphy and Flannigan. At first it appears that the list of candidates for the killing of this ‘vile criminal defense attorney’ (in the words of the investigating officer) is seemingly endless. While brilliant and successful, Sean Murphy has amassed enemies and opponents city-wide, from law enforcement – he keeps the very criminals they strive to incarcerate out of jail – to the string of females he has mistreated and discarded. It transpires, however, that the pool of suspects is narrowed down to Sean’s immediate circle of acquaintances, colleagues, and family – including his daughter Celia, brother Daniel and mentee Drew, all of whom hold prominent positions in the law firm.
Investigating the murder is seasoned detective, Joe Watson and his sidekick, Trish. The pairing has all the trappings of a classic literary trope: the older, jaded detective with the obligatory deductive processes of a Sherlock Holmes facsimile, partnered with the promising ‘good cop’ partner. The familiarity of this formula could be interpreted as either comfortably reassuring or a timeworn cliché. In keeping with the (intentionally?) parochial vibe of the novel, the crime-fighting duo and suspects are already familiar with one another and freighted with a certain amount of baggage. And almost everyone, it seems, has a motive for wanting Sean out of the picture, making for a suspenseful and intriguing whodunnit journey.
It isn’t long before tensions and secrets emerge, as the inquiries gather pace. Much of the investigation pivots around the Irish-themed Dylan’s Pub. This is owned by Darcy Finnigan (she of the ‘emerald eyes’, referred to repeatedly throughout the story), who set up the business by entering into a questionable agreement with Sean. Carrying on the insular theme, Darcy’s father Patrick is the third named partner at the law firm. Her brother Bryce has just passed the bar, and this is the reason for the celebration at Dylan’s on the night of Sean’s murder. Adding yet another layer, Darcy is embroiled in a romantic relationship with Drew, who has himself recently come under fire from Sean for taking on too many pro bono cases. Many of the cops’ interrogations take place at Dylan’s; it provides an ambient backdrop. Nevertheless, the Irish references are perhaps a little too liberal, the prose sprinkled with allusions to cultural commonplaces like ‘Baileys’ and ‘craic’, compounding descriptions of Darcy’s aforementioned green eyes and her mother’s stereotypically fiery Irish temperament.
Abby Reilly’s EASY PROMISES (the first in her Promises series) is an enjoyable and distracting read: romance, suspense, and betrayal intertwine effortlessly, and fans of this mid-brow mystery are likely to devour other books in this series.
~Amanda Ellison for IndieReader