Shades of Death: A Mystery

First Sentence: The scary, awful screaming and howling seemed further away now, though it was had to tell because of the echoes. D.S. Tom Ward doesn't always believe in following the rules and his newest case proves life changing. The skeleton of a young girl is found in a cave 18 years after her death. Also found in the cave are remnants of ritual sacrifice. It has taken Juliette years to realize she has been completely controlled by her husband, Jay, and finds a way to escape to her father. Jay also controlled Juliette and her friends when they were young through their "Egyptian game." Now, even though Jay is gone, he is still manipulating the group and Tom must figure out how it all relates to the young girl's death. Templeton is one of those under-appreciated authors. Everything about her books works. From the very first line, she set the scene. The characters were interesting and fully developed; I know who they were. The dialogue is perfect, the conversations flow in a natural way. The plot was interesting and complex; I could never quite anticipate where the story was going.

Literate, unusual plot, gripping! Good characterization, interesting locale