Book Review: Secret Lives by Mark De Castrique
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Seventy-five-year-old Ethel Fiona Crestwater runs a boarding house for government agents. When one of her boarders, Jonathan Finch, a Secret Service agent, is murdered right outside her home, she is not one to wait for the authorities to reach the scene and she initiates her very own investigation. Ethel's ”double-first-cousin-twice-removed”, Jesse, who is a university student and also one of her current boarders, assists Ethel in her efforts. As local law enforcement, the FBI and Secret Service enter the fold, it appears that the victim's murder case is somehow linked to past and present cases that fall within the jurisdiction of more than one branch of law enforcement. While the bigwigs resolve their conflicts of jurisdiction and set the rules for collaboration, Ethel and Jesse are out to solve the murder. In the course of their investigation, Ethel and Jesse discover more than they bargained for but Ethel isn't one to back down and what follows is a complicated web of corruption, lies, counterfeiting, cybercrime, digital currency fraud and murder.
The Head of Secret Service, the Director of the FBI and the Homicide Detective in charge of the case are well aware of Ethel’s skills and experience and correctly assume that she would not sit quietly while the events around the murder unfold. They realize that keeping track of Ethel’s activities could be to their advantage and each of them plans accordingly. Ethel, for her part, is not oblivious to the situation and knows how to get her work done. Some of her actions could be interpreted as obstruction of justice (as Jesse points out) but as Ethel explains, “To make an omelet, Jesse, you have to break a few eggs.”
Ethel might be seventy-five years old, but she is sharp as a tack, diligent with her RBG workouts, with an enviable network of contacts spanning every branch of law enforcement and a heart of gold. I loved how she and Jesse bonded with Davie, Jonathon’s son who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic bone condition. I enjoyed the limited glimpse into Ethel’s backstory and how she managed to make a mark in her chosen profession in an era that did not encourage women to take active roles in said profession. Overall, Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique is an intricately plotted, fast-paced murder mystery with an engaging cast of characters, a good dose of humor and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked and guessing till the very end. This was my first Mark de Castrique novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I hope that this novel is the first in a new series.
Who knew UFOs (United Flying Octogenarians) were for real? I certainly didn't!
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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