THE HANGED MAN'S NOOSE by Judy Penz Sheluk #MysteryReview

A tweet about an interview with editor Lourdes Venard led me to freelance reporter and author Judy Penz Sheluk’s blog site and the discovery of her debut mystery novel, THE HANGED MAN’S NOOSE. These opening lines of the book’s synopsis hooked me:

Journalist Emily Garland lands a plum assignment

as the editor of a niche magazine

 based in Lount’s Landing, a small town named after

a colorful 19th century Canadian traitor.

 

As the novel unfolded, I quickly developed a liking for the protagonist, freelance writer Emily Garland, and felt the tension in her emotional and tentative decision to relocate for a new job assignment. The history of Lount’s Landing is presented with an intrigue that supports the mystery behind events occurring in the small town.

 

Emily’s assignment to expose a real estate developer’s intentions soon serves to introduce several well-developed characters with a kaleidoscope of conflicting personalities. As the vibrant colors of splintered-glass events swirl around the town, in and out of a cozy tavern with its own infamous history, the wounds cut deep.

 

And then, as the expression goes, murder happens.

 

I admit to thinking, more than once while reading The Hanged Man's Noose, “I didn’t see that coming.” Sheluk holds the reader captive with hints of secrets and promises of revelations that, when finally unveiled, do not disappoint.

 

*****     *****     *****

 

You can visit Judy at:

 

Blog site: http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/2016/02/19/interview-with-an-editor-lourdes-venard/

 

Twitter: @JudyPenzSheluk https://twitter.com/JudyPenzSheluk

 

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Judy-Penz-Sheluk/e/B00O74NX04/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1459205923&sr=1-1