Detective Karl Larkin of Springfield, Ohio has a stellar reputation. He’s intuitive, experienced, observant and damn good at what he does. His skill is put to the test when Julie Cromwell, the unlovable wife of a wealthy plastic surgeon, disappears. The well-disciplined and perfectly groomed Larkin and his easygoing assistant, Ted Cramer, find themselves tangled up in an extended family drama that reaches back across a generation―a drama that may have driven someone to treacherous violence. Larkin, blinded by his powerful attraction to the victim’s stepdaughter, Cassie Thompson, struggles to recognize if she has the motives and means to commit a terrible crime. But Cassie is not the only member of Julie’s family with probable cause.
Author Donna Thompson is a gifted craftsperson whose writing chops hit all the bases: character development, description, dialogue, pacing, and plot. She makes her storytelling read effortlessly and her characters memorable. Detective Larkin–while not having the deeply intriguing flaws of some fine literary detectives to undermine his focus (think Poirot’s vanity, Sherlock Holmes’s addiction and Sam Spade’s selfishness) is, like Spade, vulnerable to plenty of sentiment around the ladies, in this case Cassie Thompson. His vulnerability means he’s not too good at his job, which helps hold a reader’s interest and adds a meaningful edge to the story.
One of Thompson’s greatest strengths rests in her mastery at intertwining character, history and motive to forward the plot, offering revelations bit by bit. She creates major characters and minor players who each, organically, add key pieces to solve this puzzling crime–a version of many hands making light work. In the mystery/thriller genre at its best, there is a balance between providing enough pieces of the puzzle, ensuring that all the pieces ultimately fit, and simultaneously keeping possibilities open so readers don’t solve the puzzle too easily. Thompson excels in this, keeping readers guessing until the last chapters.
Donna J. Thompson’s is a master at dispensing revelations little by little in PLOT TWIST, a well-executed and suspenseful novel for fans of mystery, crime and detective story genres that will keeps readers guessing until the very end.
~Ellen Graham for IndieReader