Jadon Glover is a debt collector. He goes up and down the crooked streets every Wednesdsy without fail, collecting back money thats been loanded out. One Wednesdsy he just disappears without a trace. DI Joanna Piercy is called in to find out what could have happened to Jadon.

This is the thirteenth book in the series to feature Jo Piercy. I have previously read books one and two. Normally I insist on reading books in order. I like to get to know the characters and their lives. In this instance it made little difference and from this book I have a good idea what is going on in Joanna's life.

I enjoyed this book. I found it not too long and not very taxing. There wasn't a lot of violence and the story is very police procedures.

I did think the story had an Agatha Christie feel about it. A debt collector goes missing, residents were suspects but which one could it have been. The story didn't seem twisty, its just a game of elimination.

What let the story down for me was the ending. I felt that the killer was revealed quickly. It could have been any of them and I felt the killer was drawn out of a hat. The reason behind it seemed a bit weak.

However I enjoyed this quick read and would read more but won't worry if not in order.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Although the 13th in this series, CROOKED STREET is very effective as a stand alone.

DI Joanna Piercy and her team are investigating the disappearance of a young husband ... the perfect husband according to his wife. He's never late, and if he is, he always calls. He would never just disappear. She calls the police when he's only been gone a few hours.

As the investigation gets going, Joanna finds a lot to question. Apparently the husband has a few secrets either his wife doesn't know .. or maybe she knows, but she's not willing to say.

First of all, he doesn't work where his wife says. His job description is different from what she says. Seems like he works for a money-lending organization and once every week he goes collecting from house to house to house.

Following his footsteps, Joanna feels that somebody along his route knows something ...has seen something .. perhaps has done something.

For a police procedural, it was a little slow going while the author takes the take to build the mystery and suspense. There are lots of characters, so it's not an easy thing to figure out what really happened until the very end of the story.

The author has combined Joanna's professional life, as well as her personal, as her husband is a Medical Examiner. Normally that means a lot of excessive tension to deal with, but they seem to find a way to deal with it.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Another excellent book in this series, with riveting story and characters. I am waiting anxiously for
the next book, in order to carry on with Joanna's life.

This is an interesting look at police work with interesting characters. The writing is good though the pace of the book is a bit slow. The story has a few twists and turns though nothing earthshaking. A pleasant read.

Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy mystery

Jadon Glover, the perfect husband, was expected home around nine and never arrives. Not a drinker, not a gambler, no health problems, an errant husband? His wife is under the impression he works as a financial advisor for an accounting firm but they insist they do not know of him. And it turns out the wife does not really know much about her husband at all.


DI Piercy describes the job of a detective as one that consists of asking questions. Questions unearth anomalies, lies and hidden secrets. Everyone has something they want to hide. Even perfect husbands. Jadon Glover wanted to hide the fact that his job was to lend money to desperate people and have them repay the money at exorbitant interest, week after week with no end in sight. But there is no body and no evidence of a crime. Is this going to be a case of a disappearance that is never solved? A person who simply vanishes from the face of the earth, never to be seen again and no clue as to their fate?

The story is very well written and an example of just how much drudgery police work actually is, it really made me view the police force with a different eye. All leads must be investigated and followed up on if you want to crack a case, no matter how obscure they seem. And police officers are humans too with their own burdens to bear in their private lives, yet when they go into the office these must be put aside for the good of others.

A book well worth reading.

Saphira

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

When Jadon Grover goes missing, their first thoughts are that he may have had a girlfriend or he may have just ditched his marriage. His wife of two years insists he's the perfect husband. He always lets her know when he'll be home, doesn't have a romantic interest besides her and he has a regular job. The first clue they get that something might be wrong is when they call his place of employment and find out he doesn't work there...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 1st.

The author spends a lot of time on her characters. You learn their likes and dislikes, about their relationships and more. She's almost too wordy for me. The investigation goes slow, they revisit their witnesses and they do an extensive body search but with no luck. It isn't until the last 25% of the book that the story actually moves on and gets into the heart of the matter. I think a bit less about the characters and more about the crime would be better a mix for me. Everyone's interests are different.

Joanna is very anxious to complete this case. She figures Jadon is dead by this time but she has no idea where the body has been stashed. She's also trying to get pregnant and trying not to be upset as her husband's parents (who don't like her) are moving in the area or that his daughter is coming to visit more frequently. All those personal problems don't go well with investigations. It's only when another body shows up from the same finance company that they begin to put the crime together. It had to be someone they met while doing collections from the borrowers. But who?

This story is written well, moves along slowly but smoothly and Joanna persists until she solves it. She's also just found out she is pregnant. It will be interesting to see what develops in the next book of this series.

This novel sends out a strong message to be beware of loan sharks. I didn't realise they could be pedalled on the doorstep like that. It certainly hit home how the vulnerable and gullible can be exploited. right across the board of society. The police don't take Jadon's disappearance too seriously until they discover he's not the man they thought he was. The atmosphere and mystery ramps up. There did seem to be unnecessary repetition of detail in places which slowed down the action but it added to the suspense. Eve, Jadon's wife is a piece of work for sure. She's pretentious and snobbish and behaves like a stepford wife. There were all kinds of interesting sub themes like Matthew's job, Rice and the child who was knocked over. Also some very diverse interesting characters. A touching climax. I shall post this on Amazon now. Thank you for letting me read it.

Crooked Street was a mystery far different than I expected, but I liked it. When a young husband disappears it quickly becomes clear that his perfect life is a lie. Instead of working as an executive accountant, Jadon runs a payday lending firm. It is the kind of business that destroys lives. Desperate people borrow money, and the exorbitant interest rates make it impossible to repay. But so many people having a motive doesn't help when the body is nowhere to be found. The second death is practically a gift to the reader and to Piercy and her team - otherwise they never would have found the killer.

The part of the novel that doesn't fit are the chapters about an elderly woman moving from her remote cottage into a care facility. She has no connection to any of the characters or events apart from her cottage being a place to dump the body. Masters puts a lot of effort into developing her character - far more than necessary or expected based on her role in the book. I also find it a little implausible that the murderer found her cottage while walking a friend's dog. What town dweller walks a friend's dog into the middle of nowhere - and I mean many miles from civilization.

Where Masters is at her best is in her characterizations of Piercy and her team. They are the most developed characters in the novel. This is to be expected and is a redeeming factor. The novel is well written, but its flaws are a distraction. I'm definitely willing to try another book by Priscilla Masters, but I can't rate this one higher.

3/5

I received a copy of Crooked Street from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom