Wild Crime

Meredith Lowe is determined to find the identity of her father and unearth her family’s dark past. An alcoholic mother ten years dead, a rich grandmother who loathed her daughter, a mysterious ring, Meredith has a lot to discover. A supposed cousin comes to see her, demanding the ring her grandmother left her. Following clues, she goes to California to find her father and find out why he abandoned her mother. Meredith is shocked when her ‘father’ tells her he could not be her father because he and her mother were never intimate. He hints that her grandmother’s second husband might be Meredith’s real father. Her supposed cousin tells her the second husband was not her father. What he reveals shatters Meredith’s preconceptions.

“Wild Crime” provides readers with a rich tapestry of family secrets and intrigue, skillfully woven into a compelling mystery by Julie Howard. The prologue gives a tantalizing hint in this convoluted whodunit, and readers will feel they have it all solved, but the book has an intriguing surprise for them. Meredith Lowe is a woman who has a comfortable life, a man who loves her, and children that make her complete. Until the reading of her grandmother’s will, her life was orderly and placid. The way she goes about unravelling her family’s dark secrets reveals the strength of her character. The numerous scenes with Meredith’s children tend to slow down the story needlessly. Nevertheless, the intricate complexity of this well written book should satisfy readers of this genre.

Paul Brennan