Steve Liskow, Before You Accuse Me

 

Steve Liskow, Before You Accuse Me
© 2018 Stephen Liskow
ISBN 978-198351-6092

Chris Guthrie, who was a Detroit cop before a horrible injury forced him out of the PD, is now a PI.  And he receives a phone call from a lawyer in Connecticut.  His ex-wife Sarah (they divorced a decade prior; a photographer, is now the director of the fine arts department at Wesleyan University.  She has remarried to a high-priced surgeon, Sam Henderson.  The lawyer tells Guthrie that the Hendersons have asked him to ask Guthrie to come to Connecticut to investigate the death—the murder—of Frederika ,(Rika) Holmstadt a financial adviser (with whom Sam has been getting investment advice and with whom he had been an affair—making him a suspect.  And,, as it transpires, Holmstadt had been stealing from her clients.   It doesn’t help that the gun the Hendersons had has, uh, disappeared Guthrie and Megan Traine (a computer wizard, talented keyboard player, and Guthrie’s long-time companion have come to Connecticut to see if they can find evidence exonerating Sam.

The Hendersons have 3 kids—Clara and Ike from Sam’s first first marriage and Max together.

That’s the setup, and the relationships between the adults are strained.  The kids(Max, the youngest; Ike, just entering high school and very much wanting to make the basketball team; and Clara, a budding pianist who really bonds with Meg are a delight (although a sub-plot, it’s fairly important to the story).  The interactions between the local cops and Chris & Meg work effectively.  And that’s all I’m going to say about the plot.

I will say this:  Before You Accuse Me is the best mystery I have read this year—and the best one I read last year.  In addition to being a stellar mystery, it is a fine study of the relationships between the adults and also the kids.  I’ very glad I have more opportunities  to soend time with Guthrie and Traine.