Death by Didgeridoo (A Jamie Quinn Mystery, Book 1)

BARBARA VENKATARAMAN

Synopsis from Goodreads: Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It's up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it's too late. It doesn't help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn't commit.

Stats for my copy: Pdf received from the author for review.

First line: I don't know why I feel guilty, it's not like I killed the guy.

My thoughts: My attention was captured from that first line, which did well at setting the tone for the story. Jamie Quinn, an insomniac family law attorney, receives a frantic call from her aunt. Her cousin, Adam, who has Asperger Syndrome, has been accused of murdering his music teacher, a former rock star. Jamie begins investigating, looking for evidence that will point to the real murderer. Not being a criminal attorney, she's a little out of her depth, but having represented a womanizing PI in his divorce proceeding, she enlists his help, along with that of her friend, Grace, who used to work for the public defender's office.

This was a short, bouncy, fun read. Jamie is our narrator, and she often has a humorous and self-deprecating way of looking at, and describing, things and events. The PI, Duke, was an interesting, somewhat charming character, a little on the sleazy side without being skeevy. There's also the disdainful Nick “Mr. State Attorney” Dimitropoulos, who is determined to find enough evidence of his own to press charges. I thought he might end up being a potential love interest for Jamie, who described him as “a GQ cover model”, but the story never went there. Which is fine since this is a mystery, not a romance – I read way too much romance and expect to encounter it in everything else I read.

There's not a lot of character development, but considering how short the book is (87 pages in pdf format, not counting the excerpt at the back) the author still did a good job of making each character distinct from the others. The plot moved along at a brisk pace without being too rushed or confusing, and mystery was neatly wrapped up in the end. I look forward to continuing with this series.