The Missing Page

I have been a fan of Brenda Strange since the first book "The Burning of Her Sin". I was taken from my Midwest home to the warmth and the sea breezes of Tampa. But Ms. Henderson's latest installment of this series took my heart. From the opening to the unforeseen ending, I was walking with Brenda every step of the way. I greedily consumed this book in one sitting. When I was done I sat astonished. Thank you Ms. Henderson for giving us Brenda Strange. Please, please, may we have the next in the series SOON?

Private investigator Brenda Strange's cases always seem to start of normal, but you can be sure that they won't end that way. What with living with two ghosts - one who has a crush on her - and attempting to repair her on-again-off-again romance with her lover, Brenda shouldn't expect her life to be average. But when she's contacted by a potential client who wants her to find a missing manuscript, Brenda doesn't expect a string of decapitation murders, a creepy occultist, or a possible formula for immortality. These mysteries read like an adventure series, with readers left itching for the next installment of the chronicles of Brenda's life. At a relatively brief 164 pages, the reader is sucked immediately for a swift and exciting ride and will be left heartbroken but wanting more. Henderson again delivers a wonderful and thrilling novel that will have readers demanding more Brenda Strange mysteries.

I was so glad when The Missing Page was finally published - It meant I got to have another visit with Brenda Strange. The main characters of series I really enjoy are like friends - you really look forward to seeing them again. I was not disappointed with this visit. Brenda is continuing a case she first heard about at the end of the last book. Trying to find a missing rare book. This case has many twists and turns and then theending is a shocker. Please take the time to visit with Brenda and all her friends. You will not regret it.

Brenda Strange's new adventure will take her deep into the strange and dangerous world of a man long thought dead who was working on a way to become immortal when he died. When Clifford Satterly calls Brenda from Spain wanting to know how his case was progressing, he sounded desperate and told her time was running out and she had to find the Malenko manuscript and then hung up the phone. As Brenda searches through all the mail that stacked up while she was off work dealing with her mother's death, she is trying to remember what the Malenko manuscript was. She had met Clifford last year at an autograph show in Ft. Lauderdale when he and another dealer, Hilda Moran got into a shouting match over the manuscript. She was interested in buying the manuscript and he claimed that she stole it from him and she was claiming she never received it, in spite of a FedEx signature receipt. So Brenda goes to see Hilda, who once again asserts that the signature is a forgery, who also explains to her that the Malenko manuscript is the last written record left by Conrad Malenko, a Russian occultist who was rumored to have studied under the famous black magician, Aleister Crowley. The manuscript is rumored to have contained a ceremony for eternal life but he disappeared after the Second World War. She then goes on to tell Brenda that there is a curse attached to the manuscript but she doesn't believe in curses. When her client is found decapitated, Brenda thinks about dropping the investigation but then decides she has an obligation to him to finish the case. And then more brutal killings occur, with all of the victims decapitated but the heads taken. As Brenda digs deeper into the life of Malenko, she discovers that the heads are a part of the ritual and realizes that someone is trying to complete the spell. And this will be a discovery that will plunge her into the worst nightmare of her life and cost her more than she ever thought she could pay. Henderson has once again created a top notch story with an ending so shocking it will take your breath away.

Tampa P.I. Brenda Strange often finds herself in the middle of weird cases, but even when she's in over her head she never loses hers. Not so for her client, a man in search of a lost manuscript, who is found decapitated. More heads roll as Brenda continues her search for the manuscript and it's author, a magician of the black arts. Author Patty G. Henderson does not disappoint with this, her third book featuring private detective Brenda Strange. Ms. Henderson dares to go where many writers dare not go by taking readers out of their comfort zone and thrusting them into situations they only experience in nightmares. Now and then she allows you to take a breath, then she grabs you by the collar and drags you to the end of the story, with an unexpected conclusion that will make you gasp. The Missing Page is a satisfying and heart-thudding read that will make you want to read more about Brenda and her strange investigations. I'll be impatiently waiting for Ms. Henderson's next book in the series.