MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY Review

Hamish DeLuca and Regina “Reggie” Van Buren have a new case—and this one could demand a price they’re not willing to pay.

Determined to make a life for herself, Reggie Van Buren bid goodbye to fine china and the man her parents expected her to marry and escaped to Boston. What she never expected to discover was that an unknown talent for sleuthing would develop into a business partnership with the handsome, yet shy, Hamish DeLuca.

Their latest case arrives when Errol Parker, the leading base stealer in the Boston farm leagues, hires Hamish and Reggie to investigate what the Boston police shove off as a series of harmless pranks. Errol believes these are hate crimes linked to the outbreak of war in Europe, and he’s afraid for his life. Hamish and Reggie quickly find themselves in the midst of an escalating series of crimes.

When Hamish has his carefully constructed life disrupted by a figure from his past, he is driven to a decision that may sever him from Reggie forever . . . even more than her engagement to wealthy architect Vaughan Vanderlaan.

(Synopsis from Amazon)

My thoughts 4.5 stars

Hamish DeLuca, Regina Van Buren, and Nate Reis are complex characters in a world on the brink. Their relationships mirror the complexity of the times and the characters themselves. 

1940's Boston as the world surrounding the United States is at war is vividly depicted.  Hamish, Reggie, and Nate feel it inching closer as the ideologies behind the war loudly rear their ugly heads in their adopted neighborhood. 

These ideas and the hatefulness they spawn combine with the cold hard practicalities of war to create a case that leads Hamish, Reggie, and Nate to the brink.

While Ms. McMillan did a good job picking up the threads and explaining events in the prior (first) book in the Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery series, I was still occasionally frustrated by not having experienced the progression myself. 

This is due to the depth of the characters and their "lives", and is my own fault. My mistake will be remedied in the near future.

MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY isn't what I'd call a light read; it requires concentration. It's for those times you want to time travel, immersing yourself in another world by becoming someone else, tuning out the here & now completely; live dangerously even if it's only vicariously. 

MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY is for those times.

I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are mine alone.