This is the 4th book of the series featuring Holland Taylor, a former police officer now working as a Private Investigator.

Book Blurb - Holland Taylor is a PI who does simple background checks and other mostly unchallenging cases. Still wounded by the long-ago death of his wife and daughter, and newly mourning a recently failed relationship, Taylor doesn’t have much interest in more challenging work. But almost by accident, he finds himself in the middle of the crime of the century.

A very wealthy woman, Eleanor Barrington, has been arrested for the murder of her son's fiancee, Emily Denys. While proclaiming her innocence, she also admits that she felt nothing short of contempt for the victim. Being so wealthy, Eleanor labelled Emily as a gold-digger, plain and simple.

But there's nothing simple about this case. What he finds is that Emily did not exist ... her name and personal history are all lies. So who was she really? And who wanted her dead .. other than her mother-in-law to be?

Supposedly there is a witness who heard Eleanor threaten the younger woman. An eyewitness comes forward who says they saw the murder ... and Eleanor was the one holding the gun.

This is a well-written mystery. It's full of surprises, twists and turns that keep the reader riveted to the story and trying to figure out what's really going on before the end of the book. The characters are finely drawn and credible.

Although 4th in the series, it reads easily as a stand alone. I do recommend starting at the beginning to discover the finer points about Holland Taylor. There are just a few references to the previous books, but nothing that would disrupt the reader's pleasure.

Many thanks to the author / St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I have long been a fan of David Housewright and especially enjoy his books set in the Twin Cities. As a resident myself, it is fun to accurately picture the story in my head. This might be the best Holland Taylor yet. As Taylor continues to try to get by with as little work as possible and to avoid deep emotions, he is once again thrown in the deep end when a young woman dies just as Taylor is investigating her. In seeking the truth behind her death, Taylor gets more than he bargained for and dirty secrets abound. A good read for a cold Minnesota winter.

How often do fictional private detectives’ personal lives mirror their on-hand cases? More than you’d think. David Housewright’s Holland Taylor is “a PI who does simple background checks and other mostly unchallenging cases,” but he’s finally ready to put the misery of his wife and child’s death behind him and embrace life once more. Coincidentally, the former cop’s new case challenges him to his core.

Holland’s mother presses him to move on, although she’s sympathetic to how much he’s still consumed by memories of his wife Laura and their child. It’s a classic, excruciating phone call between a parent and a grown-up child. If Holland could get a word in edgewise, he might point out that he has a preponderance of women in his personal life.

“Since the drunk driver … It’s getting to be an awfully long time ago.”

“Nine years, seven months, sixteen days.”

You’d think that after all these years I would have lost track. Only it was how I calculated the passage of time—before Laura, Laura, after Laura.

There was a long pause on the line before my mother spoke again. “It’s time for you to find someone new and settle down,” she said. “I’m going to say good-bye now so you don’t accuse me of hanging up on you.”

Holland Taylor’s current assignment is to perform a seemingly simple background check on the fiancée of the heir to the prominent Barrington family. By the time Taylor discovers that Emily Denys is an assumed name masking a “fabricated” background, Emily is “murdered—shot in the head outside her apartment.” Taylor’s client, Eleanor Barrington, the wealthy “doyenne” of the family, is arrested for the murder:

“Barrington made no secret of her disdain for the victim, convinced that she was trying to take advantage of her son and her family.”

The Barrington family puts the “D” in dysfunctional. Taylor isn’t often shocked by the foibles of human nature—after all, it’s his bread and butter to investigate and clean up dirty little all-too-human messes. However, when Joel Barrington accuses Taylor of teaming up with his mother to murder his fiancée, he’s taken aback. Why does Joel “want it to be true?”

“It is true. My mother knew I loved Em and that I wanted to marry her. Only she couldn’t stand to see me happy with another woman. She couldn’t stand to see me leave her house, leave her bed.”

“Her bed?”

“Didn’t my mother tell you? We’ve been sleeping together for six years.”

“Are you serious?”

“It started nearly a year after my father was killed in a plane crash with his mistress. My mother came to my bedroom—it was the night of my eighteenth birthday party.”

Taylor fights the shock and revulsion he feels. He recalls the lessons he learned when he was a cop, especially his four years in homicide.

You’re taught from the get-go to suppress your feelings, to take what comes. Otherwise your judgment becomes clouded; you make decisions based on emotion instead of facts. You can blow a case doing that. You can lose your life doing that.

Eleanor Barrington is Taylor’s client. When she’s released on bail, Taylor shifts to a well-worn Plan B: if one’s client is innocent, and that is to be proven without a shadow of a doubt, someone else must be guilty. Darkness, Sing Me a Song is the meandering journey of that investigation.

Taylor’s inquiries eventually take him to Arona, Wisconsin, where the Barrington family has a substantial spread in the countryside along the Trempealeau River. Taylor realizes very quickly that it won’t be easy to subtly talk to the townsfolk. The owner of the Everheart Resort, Bill Everheart, warns Taylor right off the bat, “I don’t want any trouble in my place.”

“Are you expecting trouble?” I asked.

“I got sand minders staying here, and environmentalists, and tourists that came for the fishing and water and want to be left alone—three groups that hate each other so, yeah, I’m expecting some trouble. Not to mention the townspeople. The community—used to be we had names. Now we have labels—right wing, left wing, neoconservative, flaming liberal, obstructionist…”

Taylor got the drift. Proponents of fracking are facing opposition in the community, including from the Barrington family. How these seemingly disparate threads tie together as Taylor ingeniously picks the seeming case against Mrs. Barrington apart, piece by piece, is a tour de force. It makes this reader want to go back and catch up on the first three books in the Holland Taylor series while waiting for number five.

Thanks to Minotaur Books for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

I don't know how I had never heard of David Housewright before. Especially when it's a crime series set in Minnesota! Holland Taylor is a PI and finds himself in the middle of the crime of the century in DARKNESS, SING ME A SONG.

Eleanor Barrington is from a socially prominent and wealthy family, but she has been arrested for murder. Who did she allegedly kill? Her son's fiance, Emily Denys. Eleanor made it no secret that she hated her future daughter-in-law and was completely convinced that she was just using her son for financial gain. With plenty of witnesses coming forward stating that they overheard Eleanor threatening to kill Denys, it seems like a pretty open and shut case.

Meanwhile, Holland Taylor, a Private Investigator, who typically sticks to the simple cases finds himself thrust into the middle of this crime. While he was conducting a background check on Emily Denys, she discovers that her name and background are both completely fabricated. Before he can question her further she was found dead. Who killed Emily and what was she hiding from her past?

I love the crime thrillers that involve some kind of family secrets and drama. The dynamics of a family are completely unique to them and no two stories are the same. You'd think a wealthy family of high social standing would be immune to crime and murder, but they find themselves front and center. Housewright brings us on some twists and turns throughout the novel as we try to get to the bottom of the murder.

Being from Minnesota, I loved the familiar surroundings and atmosphere. Housewright did a fantastic job setting the scene, even when we moved to Wisconsin for a portion of the novel. I definitely want to go back and visit the beginning of the series.

Overall, if you want a solid crime novel that isn't only focused on the police procedurals, then you'll enjoy Holland Taylor. Housewright threw in some good twists and kept the mystery going at a great pace. It will definitely keep your interest until the very end. While this is book four in a series, it read very well as a standalone!

I give this 4/5 stars!

Family secrets and lies always make for the best mysteries. In this case, the issue is Emily (who is she?) and Eleanor, her mother in law to be (is she the one who shot Emily?). Holland Taylor was originally hired for a background check that turns into a murder investigation. I'm not certain I'd want to work for Eleanor- to say she's not a nice person is an understatement. Her son's no gem either. Taylor is a classic wounded PI, dealing with heartbreak but still a concerned person. It's a fast read that's not too complicated but well written and plotted enough to keep you guessing. I'd not read a Holland Taylor before so thanks to Netgalley for the ARC that introduced us. This is a fine standalone but I'll be looking for him in the future.

I wasn't familiar with this author before and have not read the first three books in this series (didn't even know about them) but I don't feel that it was necessary to read them to enjoy this one. In fact at times, I felt there was too much 'explaining' of the backstory.

The writing is good and the story is pretty interesting though not especially unusual. I liked the character of Holland Taylor and his rabbit. One thing that irritated me (and maybe this is just me) was that everyone called Holland by his last name - even his x=girlfriend. It just seemed affected somehow and every time it happened, it took me out of the flow of the story for a minute.

I guessed 'who did it' long before it was revealed, and some of the extra storylines were somewhat confusing and perhaps unnecessary. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

The great thing about series mysteries is getting to know your character over time and seeing them change and grow, or in the case of Darkness, Sing Me a Song by David Housewright, getting reacquainted after an almost twenty-year absence. St. Paul detective Holland Taylor is back, this time working to prove an appalling, repugnant client is not guilty of murdering her son’s fiancée. Minnesota nice she ain’t.

The murdered Emily seems too good to be true, with co-workers and neighbors who adore her. The evidence against his client is damning, too, as there is a rock-solid eyewitness with no reason to lie. But, there is one reason to suspect the awful Eleanor Barrington might be innocent. Emily Denys did not exist before she came to St. Paul and she clearly was not who she claimed to be. Could her murder be rooted in the secrets of her past?

Following the faintest of trails to Wisconsin, Taylor goes to a community torn apart by the new oil sands industry, environmentalists, pro-industrialists, and militia members are shouting each other down in the deeply partisan Wisconsin riven by Scott Walker’s rightwing revolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed Darkness, Sing Me a Song and want to go back to the beginning of the series. It’s been so long, they will seem fresh again. I lived in St. Paul many years ago and recognize the authenticity with which he creates the city. The story is contemporary, involving issues that are salient today, but the mores and motives are timeless.

As a mystery, it is fair. The clues are there and Taylor does what he is hired to do. Taylor may occasionally cross the line, but not by his own standard of ethics. It’s been a long time, but this fourth Holland Taylor book is completely satisfying.

I received an e-galley of Darkness, Sing Me a Song from the publisher through NetGalley. It will be released on January 2nd.

Darkness, Sing Me a Song at St. Martins Press
David Housewright

I am in total shock and dismay. I had never heard of David Housewright until running into this book on NetGalley...! That almost makes me sick, because, trust me on this...this man can write a mystery! Wow. From what I can find out, this series was written, originally, as a trilogy back in the late 1990s. Apparently, he decided to bring it back after years of concentrating on his Mac McKensie series. I am so glad he did, because Holland Taylor is one of the best characters I’ve read in years.

Before you freak out about this being the fourth book in a series, let me say that I had no trouble at all learning and understanding Holland’s back story. His story was carefully woven into his current investigation without disturbing the flow and progression of his job into clearing his client, Eleanor Barrington, of murder charges.

Holland’s investigation takes him to Arona, Wisconsin, a town blowing apart at the seams over disputes about the silica sand mining operation in the area. I found this particularly interesting since a similar operation is planned just a few miles from my home. It was great to learn the potential up and down sides of a similar pending operation. The town is divided between those who appreciate the job opportunities and those who hate what’s being done to their environment.

I figured out “whodunnit” fairly quickly, but that’s not what the story is about, really. It’s about how Holland puts the pieces together and how he handles that knowledge. I was impressed. Really impressed.

The “about the author” blurb compares him to some amazing writers. Now, I will add him to my favorite mystery writers...James Patterson, John Sandford, Tom Savage and now David Housewrite. If you’re a fan of mystery, pick up a copy now, and...

Enjoy!

2shay

A fairly standard detective mystery that includes some taboo elements. I liked the character of Holland, and his relationship with his neighbour's child. The fact that he owned a rabbit rather than the usual cat or dog, and that the rabbit was essentially free range in his house was awesome. I also have a rabbit living like that, and it was nice to see. I felt like the story was somewhat generic murder mystery but some of the accusations had me raise my eyebrows at times. A generic, but good start to the series.

A good read. A suspenseful book that kept me guessing. Definitely an enjoyable read.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Eleanor Barrington has employed Holland, a PI, to look into the background of Emily, the woman her son Joel is involved with. Holland discovers that "Emily" is a persona which has only existed for the last 13 months. Then Emily is murdered and a reliable eye witness claims the shooter was Eleanor. Holland is employed by Eleanor's lawyer to undermine the case against her. Then links are discovered between Emily's death and that of the mayor of a small town where US Sand is developing fracking operations.

This was a fast-moving, fairly light crime story. Holland is a likeable character with useful martial arts skills and a partner who doesn't let him get away with anything. This is apparently the fourth novel in a series and there was a certain amount of Holland's back story to catch up on, but it held up pretty well as a stand alone story. Once the plot had moved to Arona, there was quite a bewildering array of characters to keep on top of, but the plot was coherent over all and the conclusion fairly satisfactory


SPOILER


given that the perpetrator's mother and brother had been engaged in an incestuous relationship for six years.