Title: Serpent’s Tongue
Series: Dick Hardesty 15
Author: Dorien Grey
Genre: Mystery
Length: Novel (224pgs)
ISBN: 9781612711362
Publisher: Zumaya Boundless (1st February 2014)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: The Devil is in the details
When Dick Hardesty is hired to look into threats against former priest Dan Stabile, possibly from someone whose confession Dan heard while still in the priesthood, it’s just another case. Then, on a stormy Sunday, on a rain-slick road, Dan is killed, Dick’s partner Jonathan is severely injured, and suddenly, it’s personal.
Was the accident really an accident…or murder?
Dick learns Dan’s secret could involve a child murderer, and now it seems the man is stalking Joshua and tormenting Jonathan. The objectivity so vital to Dick’s role as a private investigator goes out the window as he pursues one lead after another, and it begins to look like Dan wasn’t the target after all.
Purchase Link: http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=311
Review: This book is a part of a series and can be read as a stand-alone but really is best read in order. Dick is asked to look into some threats against former priest Dan and just as Dick is to question Dan, Dan dies when the car he is a passenger in crashes… was it an accident or murder? As Dick pieces together the limited clues, he worries about Jonathan, his partner, who was severely injured in the same crash. When Jonathon and Joshua begin to receive cards and notes Dick believes it is connected to Dan’s death, but finding the person behind it all proves hard even with the police searching for the suspect… a child killer.
This wonderful mystery shows Dick Hardesty at his best. Dick faces a lot in this story as he juggles work, an injured partner, and the responsibility of his partner’s nephew. Dick and Jonathon’s relationship is tested to the full as Jonathon works to overcome his injuries and Dick has to face the limited rights he has as a gay male in the eighties. Being asked to look into some threats just might have turned deadly and Dick uncovers a connection to a child murderer who just might have confessed to Dan before he left the priesthood, Dick has his hands full trying to protect Jonathon and Joshua.
Dorien Grey knows how to weave a mystery that misdirects and thrills, makes you try to solve the case yourself and has your heart aching as the circumstances unfold. There isn’t a beat missed in this story and it keeps us gripped as we follow Dick as he solves cases and juggles his home life. The writing is wonderful as we are submerged into the eighties; it shows us the art that was phone tag and the political practices of the time, the doubt that manly men could really be gay and the blatant suspicion against gays that some people still had and got away with.
The mystery is amazingly woven, the way Dick shows us each step of his investigation, and how it meshes with his everyday life and all the clues point one way until, bam!, we are thrown a curveball. I absolutely loved this story, seeing Dick and Jonathon’s life together as they struggle with the aftermath of the accident, the depression, and struggles with the new limitations; it is all beautifully laid out before us. Jonathon’s father deserves a special mention because of how wonderful he was, if he was any different he could have made a lot of trouble for Dick and Jonathon is truly blessed with the father he has.
I recommend this to those who love mystery, danger, brilliant characters, a steadfast love, misdirection and a great ending.