Bird of Prey (Semya Slotin Mystery #1)

Semya and Polliannah, best friends since childhood, live in London and co-own a high-end wine shop. Semya has Criminal Justice degree and is very good at super-sleuthing - sometimes too good, as it turns out.  She's taking a break from mysteries to focus on her other loves:  good wine and her long-time boyfriend Josh.  Or is she?  Josh has  mysteries of his own, and when the murder of a supermodel is connected to an unsolved serial murder, some unsavory connections lead right back to him.  

The author’s reference to this story as a “Nancy Drew” mystery is spot on! Great characters who exchange witty banter lends humor to this mysterious story. There are loose ends with Josh’s true identity, and the reader is never really sure whose side he’s really playing on.   Unfortunately, readers are also left with multiple questions about Semya and Josh's past that are being referred to repeatedly throughout the book.  As this is the first of a series, one hopes to have more answers in the next release.  The biggest hurdle with this book, however, was the footnote numbers for the foreign text. Having to flip back and forth to locate the translations, along with the numbers not in sequential order, makes for a choppy read.  Hopefully, as the series continues these small glitches will smooth out and we can continue to enjoy the thoroughly delightful mystery series this promises to be!

Julie Caicco