📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ Swindled by S E Shepherd

 

Hobeck Books
7 September 2021

Sandlin PI  series #1

My thanks to Rebecca at Hobeck Books for my copy of this book

Lottie

Beautiful, but a little spoilt, Lottie Thorogood leads a charmed life. Returning home from horse riding one day, she finds a stranger, drinking tea in the family drawing room – a stranger who will change her life, forever.

Hannah

After a bad decision cut short her police career, Hannah Sandlin is desperate to make her mark as a private investigator. She knows she has the skills, but why won’t anyone take her seriously? She’s about to become embroiled in a mystery that will finally put those skills to the test and prove her doubters wrong. It will also bring her a friend for life.

Vincent

Vincent Rocchino has spent his life charming the ladies, fleecing them and fleeing when things turn sour. How long can he keep running before his past catches up with him?

📖 My Thoughts..

Swindled is the first in a new series of crime fiction which features Hannah Sandlin, an ex-rookie police officer, now turned private investigator. In Hannah's first big case she meets with Lottie Thorogood who, after a privileged and wealthy upbringing, is now pretty much at rock bottom and is determined to find the man who brought her family down. Sandwiched between the story of what brings these two women together is the story of Vincent Rocchino, a complicated man who, it must be said, is an out and out bad 'un, and whose who escapades and antics make for enjoyable reading.

The story moves around in time, gradually revealing different perspectives and shows why these three very different people are bound together, and it does so with lively dialogue and a good sense of mystery. Everything worked well, the characterisation is great, the plot is well thought out and maintains its credibility from the start, and there are nice touches of humour amongst the twists and turns. I especially liked the unfurling of the relationship between Hannah and Lottie, each have had their share of difficulties but it was good to see them support each other through some difficult experiences. Vincent should have been unlikable, but for all his faults, he has a certain Italian charm which made me smile whenever he appeared on the page.

The author writes this cosy crime genre well, and I sense that the crime series is going to go from strength to strength in future adventures for Sandlin PI.

About the Author

Twitter @thatsueshepherd #Swindled

@HobeckBooks