Identity Murder (Chicago Police Detective Kerry Grant)

After reading Jean Sheldon's most recent book, "The Woman In the Wing" I told Jean I liked her easy to read story and I would some day like to read her earlier books. Jean sent me those first three books and after reading the first one I can see that this series is going to be the same easy-to-read story but with a police heroine as the principal actor. The Chicago Police Department's twenty-third district has a very distinct character working in their detective division. Kerry Grant and her partner, Mike Sullivan work as a team to attempt to solve some of the big city crimes, of which there are many. Jennifer Kincaid was a court reporter that lived in an old, but decent apartment building. Also in that building lived an older woman, Veronica Cooke with whom Jennifer became friends sharing time and conversation together. Kerry was a computer whiz and became acquainted with Veronica when she had to investigate the payoff of a big insurance policy on Veronica--but--Veronica wasn't dead! Kerry worked the case and taught Veronica many facets of the Internet, how to discover fraud and scams, and when to be suspicious. Eventually Veronica learned enough to start teaching other older people about the pitfalls one could fall into through the Internet. Kerry was selected to lead computer training for the Chicago Police Department since she was clearly the expert in this field. Kerry was planted as a con artist to help a group running scams of various types on the Internet, being very successful with her infiltration. She worked with and through another plant in the group. This worked out fine until some suspicions showed up and things had to come to a head. Eventually Kerry, Jennifer, and Veronica became great friends and worked together. One day Jennifer was a hostage in her courtroom. This took the story off in another area but soon the connection became apparent. Jean Sheldon writes in a way that any reader can understand. Her storylines are easy to follow but they are not so simple to become ridiculous. I thoroughly enjoyed "Identity Murder" with its characters and I look forward to reading the other two books in this series. Thanks Jean Sheldon.

Jean Sheldon presently hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the author of poetry and drawings; a book on car repair; a "how to" on the subject of cats; and most recently, her Chicago Police Detective Kerry Grant mysteries. Sheldon has actually published two additional Kerry Grant mysteries, entitled SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE DEAD and A CHILLING GOODBYE. Kerry Grant is a Chicago Police Detective who has a dark secret. She lost her entire family in a RV accident three years before. When her old childhood friend, Jennifer Kincaid, comes back into her life (with another 78 year old friend who has suffered from identity theft), Kerry's sad life begins to turn around. Because of her computer savvy, Kerry is asked to join an undercover agent who has been embedded with the Chicago mob scene for a number of years in order to train him. Little does she know that love will find her, and that a little Chicago Cubs teddy bear will symbolize a new start to her life: "'I understand not sleeping with anyone for a while, but I figured that was life after forty.' Jennifer stopped herself and remembered there wasn't anyone else for Kerry to share her great news. She couldn't talk about it with Mike, or her sisters and mom. 'I do understand, Kerry, and it's wonderful. What I don't understand is why Marty turned Chubby Bear around, or why Cubby Bear watched you to begin with. By the way, the Cubby Bear we're talking about is the little stuffed bear they sell at Wrigley Field with the Cubs hat and shirt, right?'" Not only does Jean Sheldon write against the backdrop of Chicago and the Eastern border of Wisconsin up to Fond du Lac, she has an excellent knowledge of police procedural in Chicago. Her writing is infused with a sense of humor; a fanciful take on romance; characters that share comradery in the midst of danger; and an excellent view of the mob. IDENTITY MURDER is a wonderful first effort in what will become a beloved series about plucky Kerry Grant, her best friend Jennifer Kinkaid; Kerry's partner Mike; and the inimitable Veronica Cooke. Sheldon includes a mini-course on computer fraud and identity theft that will give readers much needed information on how to avoid cyber-crooks. She also writes a darn good mystery yarn. Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer