Cameron Winter is known for having a sense about crime. His background as a spy trained his mind—and his body—for action, and his current role as an English professor gives him a sharp understanding of human nature. But beyond that, he was born with a "strange habit of mind"—the ability to recreate detailed crime scenes in his imagination and dissect the motives and encounters that produced them. And after reading a puzzling news story about a wealthy family killed in a small town in the Chicago suburbs, he can't resist the chance to apply this deductive power in the pursuit of justice for the victims. This was quite the thriller with enough twists to me in the dark until the end.

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

I had a tough time rating this book because it’s a 5-star story in terms of quality, but the ickiness factor of it definitely changed how much I enjoyed the book.

Klavan has written a tremendously nuanced and compelling protagonist who only gets more interesting as the series progresses. And I love the way he weaves together the professor’s past as a spy with his present as an amateur detective and scholar.

In some ways, the mystery itself is excellent. It’s well-paced, intricate. and enthralling. Even the solve is clever, though the ickiness of it made it hard for me to truly enjoy the story in the way I have others in the series. And I really don’t love the “mercy for the killer” stuff for a killer of this sort.

I hope the next book in the series stays away from this kind of icky material, but maintains the level of quality in both writing and story that Klavan produces.

Cameron Winters is an expert murder analyst with a background that he regrets, so he uses the skills and knowledge he gained as a member of a secret hit squad. This is book #3 in the series but can easily read as a stand alone.

When Cameron reads a newspaper article about the murder of a wealthy family in Maidenvale, Illinois, the facts listed in the article are not credible. So, he will make a trip to Maidenvale to see if his instincts were right....and boy, were they right. The plot is excellent. The town of Maidenvale seems to have decided to bury the crime and is not happy when an outsider starts looking around. To say much more will involve spoilers and that's not what we read mysteries for. The twists were unusual and the clues well hidden. The why is a surprise. I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys a really good mystery that will stretch your crime solving skills to the max.

In the book The House of Love and Death, author Andrew Klavan continues his Cameron Winter series, the retired spy-assassin turned college English professor. Winter is known for his sixth sense about crimes. He seems to be able to read a crime event and connect facts in his head like no one else. He is drawn to a story of a wealthy family in a small Chicago suburb that have been murdered and the only survivor is the families young son whose memory seems cloudy. The police are pursuing the most logical suspect – but do they have it all wrong? And is the police and the detective on the case corrupt? This is great addition to the series. I would highly recommend this book and the series. I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Love and Death by Andrew Klavan is a very highly recommended third mystery in the Cameron Winter series. This is an absolutely excellent addition to an already exceptional series!

After reading about the murder of four people at a wealthy family's home in the Chicago suburbs, ex-spy-turned-English professor, Cameron Winter, investigates. The only survivor is a young boy, while his parents, older sister, and nanny were all killed. Winter has a "strange habit of mind" that allows him to see connections or suspect facts that have been left out or overlooked at a crime scene. He was previously a trained operative, so this extra-special understanding of human nature has been developed over time. The police are looking for the easiest, expedient solution to the crime, but Winter knows there is something more.

In-between Winter's investigation into the current case are psychotherapy sessions with his therapist Margaret Whitaker where he recaps his most troubling cases to her. This provides additional depth and development to Winter's character as he confronts his own past and failings.

The House of Love and Death is an absolutely riveting, un-put-downable mystery that only becomes more intense and complex as the narrative unfolds. In an already excellent series, this investigation of Cameron Winter is the best to date. I was totally immersed in the action. Winter may know what his "strange habit of mind" is sensing as he investigates and it is sheer pleasure in following along as he pieces the clues together. As the novel progresses, the danger to Winter increases while the suspense and tension also multiply. The House of Love and Death is completely engrossing and riveting throughout.

Cameron Winter is a fully realized, complex and developed character who will garner sympathy and compassion from readers. He is intelligent and tenacious while investigating and following what he senses is really going on. It is clear that Winter is working through the demons from his past while using his abilities to solve a current mystery.

This can be read as a stand-alone novel, but readers will likely want to read the previous Cameron Winter novels after The House of Love and Death. The complicated plot becomes increasingly sophisticated as more information is revealed and Winter uncovers or senses additional information.

I love this series and anxiously await another novel featuring Cameron Winter. (I would appreciate it if Klavan didn't leave me crying again, twice this time, over events in the narrative.)
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Mysterious Press via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I missed the first two books in this series about an unlikely protagonist solving murders, making this a standalone for me, . Cameron Winter has some sort of special ability and he's burdened by things he did in the name of the government (please- this is implausible) but he talks to a therapist. When everyone but a child in a family is killed, he thinks things aren't right and sets off to get answers, As fans of this genre know, law enforcement and others in town have secrets they don't want him to uncover, I wanted to like this more than I did and think that fans of the characters will enjoy it. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to others,

📖🕵️‍♂️
🌆🏙️: 🔜 Chicago 🏘️
👨‍🏫: Professor Cameron Winters🚶‍♂️
👪💥: Rich family 👼, lots of mystery people🕴️👩‍🦰👮‍♂️
🧠💡: Professor senses trouble from far away!🌐 Feels the need to dive in.🏊‍♂️
❓❗: Even when big bads🦹‍♂️, cops👮‍♂️, and 3 powerful women👩‍🦰👩👩‍🦳 get in the way, he’s ON it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: 5 stars for a 🔝 book!
📝: Klavan🖋️ = 🔥! Super unique hero, never boring! 🌀
🙌: Big thanks to NetGalley & Mysterious Press for this! 📚🎁👀📝!

A burning house. A family murdered. An unlikely suspect.

Cameron WInters is an unusual guy. Trained by a US agency known as The Division to be an operative who specialized in engineering the deaths of people who needed removing, he now earns a living as a college English professor. He is also deeply troubled by his past and how it has left him unable or unwilling to form connections, as a result living a lonely life. He is taking steps to come to terms with who he was and what he did, and is regularly visiting Margaret, a therapist to whom he tells the story of his life. But as much as Cam regrets his violent past, he can’t quite seem to retire his unique skill sets. Every so often, he hears or reads about a crime committed but whose conclusion does not seem correct to him. He has what he calls a “strange habit of mind”, where he enters a meditative state of being and his brain sorts through facts, impressions, and other sensations to solve a complex puzzle….and is able to find the truth about what happened and why. In this, the third installment of the series, Cam reads a newspaper article about a horrible tragedy that took place in a wealthy suburb of Chicago called Maidenvale. Firefighters arrived to a blazing inferno at the gated community home of the Wasserman family, and ran in hoping to save some of the residents. Instead, they pulled out the dead bodies of the husband and wife, their teenage daughter Lila, and their live-in nanny Agnes. Only the 7 year old son Bobby survived, found hiding in the woods nearby. The deaths were not caused by the fire, however….each were killed by what appeared to be a rifle shot. The police are searching for Mateo Hernandez, the 17 year old classmate and boyfriend of Lila, as a person-of-interest in the matter. Something about the case piques Cam’s interest, and he makes a visit to Maidenvale to look into what happened. He soon discovers that the town is harboring secrets and animosities, prejudices and corrupt police, undocumented immigrants settled in the community, possible drug trafficking….in short, the town is not the idyllic community that it purports to be, and Cam has strong doubts that the police have identified the right suspect. The local detective in charge makes it clear that he wants Cam to stay out of the investigation, and he is not the only one who doesn’t want Cam digging into the goings on in Maidenvale. Cam can not stop until his mind is able to make sense of what happened, with the help of several people who also have doubts about the police investigation. But can he survive long enough to figure it out?
While this novel can certainly be read as a stand-alone and be an excellent mystery in and of itself, those who have read the two previous installments in the series know more of Cam’s backstory. One of the intriguing elements of the books is that slow peeling away of Cam’s impenetrable shell, delving into how he became a highly skilled assassin and why he stepped away from that life, what regrets he has, and whether or not he will be able to live a normal life. The bond he has created with Margaret may or may not be strong enough to survive all of his revelations, but it is helping him to make some sense of what he is feeling and also helps in this case to zero in on an underlying motive for the tragedy in Maidenvale. Add into the mix the compassionate head of the local Community Center, the security chief at the gated community where the Wasserman family lived who is not happy about the uninvited wave of people landing in her town, and the nagging question of why Agnes the nanny got her charge Bobby to safety yet didn’t escape with him, and the reader has a complex and intriguing mystery to solve alongside Cam. I found the characters to be well-developed, and the story itself had its fair share of plot twists and unexpected turns of events. A solid addition to an excellent series, and I look forward to the next installment in the series. I would recommend this book to all lovers of a good mystery, and in particular to readers of Thomas Harris and Lee Child. Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press for access to an advanced reader’s copy of The House of Love and Death.

This is the third book in the series of a man with a “strange habit of mind,” a literature professor who has a violent history, teaches poetry, and finds ways to insinuate himself in murder mysteries to which he has no logical connection. It continues to be a good series and one worth reading.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day Chicago suburbs
Characters: Professor Cameron Winters and a large supporting cast of a murdered family, varied list of suspects, non-stereotypical female characters, and unscrupulous lawmen
Overview: A wealthy family is shot to death and it is clear to the police there is only one suspect who has gone into hiding. Professor Winters, however, has this sixth sense from afar and knowing nothing about the family or the situation leading up to the crime, feels he must investigate. Of course, his strange habit proves once again to be entirely correct despite opposition from drug lords, police, and other involved characters including three intriguing female protagonists.
Recommendation: I rate this book 4 stars
Extras: Klavan continues to write a fascinating series, mainly because his protagonist is so complex and his plot lines are never mundane or predictable.
Thanx to NetGalley and the Mysterious Press for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

This is a mildly interesting novel about a college professor who has an unusual background as a spy. After hearing about a crime, he seeks to uncover the truth behind the murders of a family. His talents are not appreciated by the authorities and, despite their warnings, he continues undeterred on his mission. The reader roots for him to succeed and will not be disappointed despite the obstacles he faces.
I thank NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Professor Cameron Winter is back with his special insights to investigate a family’s murder despite obstacles raised by the town’s lead detective. His abilities, though atypical, are uncanny. If more time had been focused on his skills, and less on his personal demons, I would have enjoyed the story even more..

312 pages

4 stars

A family and their nanny is brutally shot to death. Then, their house is set afire.

Former spy and now an English professor Cameron Winter has a certain instinct about crimes. His former profession has honed his observational skills and he is a keen judge of human nature. He has a skill that lets him see the details of a crime by walking the scene.

He is interested in the house fire murders. He travels to the little town outside Chicago to take a look. Cameron learns that there is one survivor of the tragedy. A young boy, now living with his aunt and uncle.

Local law enforcement do not want him there. They already have a suspect and are anxious to arrest him. In fact, the sheriff goes to extreme measures to make sure Cameron leaves town.

What’s going on?

I really like that Mr. Klavan gives the reader the opportunity to know Cameron better. He includes sessions with Cameron’s therapist, Margaret. These vignettes are very well written and I enjoyed the back and forth between client and therapist.

This is an overall well written novel. The characters are interesting and Cameron makes a very good protagonist. He is thoughtful and self-examines his actions. I like that he muses on his behavior, present and past.

I want to thank NetGalley and Penzler Publishers./Mysterious Press for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

The House of Love and Death by Andrew Klavan

Release Day October 31, 2023

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5,',l,
Pace: 5/5
Mystery/Thriller: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

A Cameron Winter Mystery series this can be read as a stand-alone novel. I have read others and honestly the only information you would miss out on is Winters past and character development to this point. The book is very well written and does have a slower pace at the start but begins to pick up pretty quickly.
Cameron Winter has a few talents that help him solve crimes. Once a spy he now is an English professor . With the ability to picture a crime scene in his mind, he can figure out the motives as well as how the crime was committed. After seeing the news about the death of a very wealthy family in the suburbs of Chicago,, Cameron wanted to put his bailies to work. Three family members along with their nanny were pulled out of the burning house but were already deceased from gunshot wounds.
The police believe it is an open and shut case and they think they know who the killer is but Cameron does not think it is that easy. They also do not want Cameron snooping around for answers and would be even happier if he just left town. As he starts to decipher clues he also must look into the issues that he is dealing with as well. Can he pull this one off or will it be too much for Cameron Winter this time? Let me say that the ending pulls everything together so perfectly that you will actually feel your head spinning because it is not predictable in anyway and the build up to the ending shows you how amazing the author is.

I cannot wait for the release date!
Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Cameron Winter is a dynamic protagonist. Spy turned professor, he solves crimes. This novel reads like nonfiction at times. This talented author has written a whodunit that has so many red herrings it is difficult discerning the ending. That being said, this is a great end. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author for my copy.