Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: donnell-ann-bell

  • UNTIL DEAD: A Cold Case Suspense by Donnell Ann Bell – Murder Mystery, Suspense, Police Procedural

    UNTIL DEAD: A Cold Case Suspense by Donnell Ann Bell – Murder Mystery, Suspense, Police Procedural

     

    If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does anyone care? If the tree has connections to the rich and powerful, they just might. In Until Dead, Donnell Ann Bell suggests the many ways “elites” – those with seemingly limitless wealth and power – can manipulate the world to their wishes.

    Events that might otherwise go unnoticed take on great importance when they affect the powerful elites. With subtlety and skill, Bell reveals this as she takes the reader from an odd encounter in 2017 to an assassination attempt in Colorado two years later.

    Until Dead begins when Mark Rafferty, an up-and-comer in a general practice Denver law firm, well on his way to full equity, dies in a one-car accident at the beginning of rush hour in the fall of 2017. He leaves behind several open cases and his widow, Theresa O’Neil, an Assistant United States Attorney. Theresa has a lot of support behind her, including her boss, the Colorado U.S. Attorney, and an aunt who is a U.S. Senator.

    After Theresa survives an assassination attempt clearly set up by a knowledgeable killer, law enforcement realizes that she has a target on her back. Someone wants her dead, but who, and why?

    The Senator’s powerful connections push the issue until a multi-agency task force forms to investigate—the same multi-agency that brought the Black Pearl Killer to justice. Everett Pope, a Denver police investigator, works with agents from the FBI and ATF to bring the would-be-killer to justice and learn who hired him for the hit.

    Pride, greed, envy, and perhaps even a smattering of lust make for a tantalizing set of motives. The story is told from multiple points of view, even getting into the hit man’s head. The reader can develop rapport with these relatable, multi-dimensional characters.

    Bell’s familiarity with the city of Denver and the mountainous regions of Colorado shines in her imagery. Her knowledge of the structures and workings of U.S. government agencies is impressive, suggesting a lot of research went into this story. Until Dead is a deep dive into a complex web of government hierarchies, power brokers, cybercriminals, and cyber security combined with drones and C-4. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

    The specificity of government structures works for and against the narrative, as the numerous acronyms attached to those government entities. But such is the nature of bureaucracies. Aside from this, the complex plot maintains its suspense, with an ending that hits like a destructive Colorado derecho.

    The second book in the Cold Case Suspense Series has launched Donnell Ann Bell into a spot as one of our favorite authors. Highly Recommended!

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews sticker

     

     

     

  • An Editorial Review of “Deadly Recall” by Donnell Ann Bell

    An Editorial Review of “Deadly Recall” by Donnell Ann Bell

    Blue and Gold Clue 1st place badgeDonnell Ann Bell deftly intertwines a fast-paced thriller with an emotionally-charged love story. Deadly Recall will entice devotees of both genres, with added appeal for those who appreciate the southwestern setting of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    The mystery begins when nine-year-old Eden Moran learns that her beloved mentor, Sister Beatrice, is leaving the school that very day. When released for recess, the devastated Eden dashes across the playground to St. Patrick’s Church with hope of finding the nun even though it was against the rules to leave the school yard. She knew it was a sin to disobey but she had to take the chance. Unseen by Father Munroe and Sister Beatrice, Eden witnesses an argument between them that turns physical. The sister falls and the priest is unable to wake her. The shocked Eden sneaks back out and races back to the school’s playground.  Here, panicked adults await her.  When they ask her where she’s been, the little girl tells them she couldn’t recall.

    Seventeen years later: Eden—who had acted so outrageously all those years ago that she was expelled from school and sent by her parents to live with her aunt—has returned to Albuquerque.  Now 26, she is an attractive and successful public defender.  Unfortunately, relations with her parents are still strained.

    It isn’t long before Eden meets Albuquerque Police Detective Kevin Dancer.  Attorney and cop can’t help but be attracted to each other, but the detective’s job is to put the bad guys in jail, while the public defender seeks to help the accused remain free. To add further complications, like Eden’s, Kevin’s family relations are troubled. Thus, both are wary of close relationships.

    The skeletal remains of one Celeste Lescano, aka Sister Beatrice, have been uncovered at a construction site inciting Detective Dancer to solve this cold case. When he investigates, witnesses recall Eden’s close childhood relationship with the nun. However, when Kevin questions Eden, she denies having known Sister Beatrice.

    Eden invites Kevin to attend her sister’s wedding at St. Patrick’s in hopes he’ll meet people who actually knew the woman. Father Munroe, now a bishop, officiates and attends the reception. Noting the bishop’s attraction to women, Detective Dancer pencils him in as a possible suspect.

    Murders and close calls occur bringing more twists and turns to the story. It seems that Sister Beatrice’s killer wants to make sure that Eden doesn’t have the chance to recall what she witnessed that fateful day—by doing whatever it takes to keep her quiet forever. The suspect list lengthens, with St. Patrick Church as the focal point, making Kevin and Eden at odds with each other even as their irrepressible attraction heats up and Eden’s life becomes increasingly in danger.

    Deadly Recall is a  page-turning thriller that comes to a breathless conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this emotion-packed action story by Donnell Ann Bell so much that her November release of Betrayed is on my personal reading list. In the meantime, I have ordered Bell’s earlier thriller, The Past Came Hunting. I look forward to reading more suspense mystery novels from this award winning author.