Act of Betrayal

Morgan Avery (AKA Shirley Kennett) strikes again! Her characters are so real you feel like you really know them. Be sure to read her 1st 3 books to top this one off! Keep writing, Shirley, no matter what name you have to use! Your fans will always follow your books!

This is the latest installment in the crime/mystery series involving P.J. Gray and Leo Shultz. I have been a fan of this series for years and this is my favorite. All the suspense and action is there and it seemed a little less graphic than her previous novels. I am careful when I start one of Shirley Kennetts books because I know I will not be able to put it down util I finish it! I look forward to the next one!

That's right, Shirley Kennett. This novel is the latest book in the series that features cybersleuth P.J. Gray and veteran police detective Leo Schultz. As in her previous books, Ms. Kennett (a/k/a Morgan Avery) seamlessly blends mystery, suspense, romance, and the right amount of technical information about police procedure.

In St. Louis, Cat waits for the arrival of Rick Schultz, just released from prison after serving time for selling illegal drugs to students. During his jail time, Rick received mail from Ginger Miller, promising him a good time upon his release. Now he comes to meet Ginger for the first time, but instead of the woman, Cat hits Rick and ties him up inside a tent containing cyanide.A few days later, the police led by cybersleuth PJ Gray investigate Rick's murder, which is personal because the victim is the son of Veteran Detective Leo Schultz. However, the next morning Leo's car is involved in a vehicular homicide when his automobile is seen running down a 4-year-old child who was playing on the sidewalk. The police look for Leo, who has vanished. Leo knows he is in a game of cat and mouse with him being the rodent and only PJ on his side. ACT OF BETRAYAL is a chilling police procedural that centers on revenge. The story line is taut as the action begins on page one and never eases up for a moment. PJ is an intriguing single mom who combines her psychology skills with her computer abilities into a new type of sleuth. Leo is superb, realizing his role in the game with his unknown opponent is to serve as a victim. Throw in some clever twists with a fresh, unique mystery and readers will call for more PJ stories soon from Morgan Avery.Harriet Klausner

This book has plenty of action and the main character is very likable. There are several suprises which will catch the reader off guard. The main character's job as a developer of computer simulation of crime scenes does not really enter into the plot. This is an element that could have given the book more interest...perhaps in the next one?