Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Banking on Murder’ by J D Whitelaw. This cosy mystery story was published by Red Dog Press on 3rd December (who have also organised the blog tour).
With thanks to Red Dog Press and the author for my copy of the book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
Martha Parker runs a small private detective agency in Glasgow with her two sisters, Helen and Geri. They specialise in catching cheating partners and those playing away from home.
The Parkers are hired by the reclusive wife of a wealthy banker she suspects is breaking their vows, but when he shows up murdered, it’s up to Martha, Helen and Geri to prove the wife’s innocence in their most dangerous case yet.
Buy Links:
https://www.reddogpress.co.uk/product-page/banking-on-murder
Amazon
My Review:
I jumped at the chance to read this cosy mystery story, the first in a new series to feature the Parker sisters as detectives and set in modern-day Glasgow.
In this novel, the detective agency run by Martha Parker and her two sisters is called upon to investigate the infidelity of a wealthy banker – his wife, who is both reclusive and slightly unstable, is sure that he is cheating but wants to know who with. As the trio begin to investigate, they realise they may have taken on more than they can cope with – especially when the banker is murdered and they are suspected of being involved by the formidable police detective in charge of the investigation.
What appealed to me about this book was the notion of sisters working together as detectives – the relationship between the three women, for me, was the strength of the book and I really enjoyed the slightly spiky sisterly teasing that comes with the sibling bond.
Of the three sisters, Martha is the eldest and the main focus of the novel. She is forty and has a family of her own (although we don’t see them much). Next is Helen who is 30 and the academic of the family, and then there is Geri, in her early 20s and the slightly loose cannon.
The sisters are so different and have been well-developed in their own rights so that the reader engages with them as individuals. I particularly liked Martha, slightly baffled to be middle-aged and trying to be the responsible one (but maybe my preference is linked to my own age!) The scenes with the sisters bickering about various things were my favourites – from Geri’s social life, Helen’s party faux pas and Martha’s dress sense, no topic was out of bounds and this felt absolutely relatable to my own family! This also added a humour to the story which I really liked.
The story is well plotted and engaging. While I never felt that there was any true peril, there are some tense bits and it certainly kept me interested throughout – more so because of the detectives than because of the murder victim or his wife, both of whom seemed pretty unpleasant.
The backdrop of the city of Glasgow was an interesting and appealing choice – especially the wealth of the banking area and the penthouse apartments contrasting with the less salubrious areas of the city.
I’d recommend this to anyone who likes cosy crime with appealing leads. As the Parker sisters bicker and banter their way through the investigation, you will be sure to keep turning the pages.
About the Author:
J.D. Whitelaw is an author, journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics, he moved into journalism. Subjects he has covered have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste – with everything in between. He’s also a regular reviewer and talking head on shows for the BBC. Banking on Murder is the first of three Parker sister novels. They follow his hugely successful HellCorp series. His debut in 2015 was the critically acclaimed Morbid Relations.