4.5/5
(Rounded up)

I wanted to read this because of her name 😏 but the story kept me reading. This was my first by her, but it definitely won’t be my last. I love when books have dual timelines, it keeps the suspense for me. I’m excited to read more of her stuff now!

This is a slow-burn police procedural involving the murder of a director of a summer stock theatre play in 2019 and its eerie similarities to other almost identically-staged serial killer murders in 1969. The experienced lead detective, Susan, works to solve the mystery in the present timeline with throwbacks to 1969 when her father, now retired, was the lead investigator on the similar murders.

The mystery touches on intergenerational trauma and explores the impacts that the murders have on the lives of those left behind. I thought that was an interesting aspect to the story.

The mystery also has several plot elements/layers, multiple suspects and trails of clues. The threads come together well in a good ending. There is also a secondary storyline around Susan and her aging mother’s relationship which added another layer to Susan’s character. Lastly, it was refreshing to read a mystery with the lead detective being a woman in her 50s!

While this is book 3 of a series involving Susan, it can be read as a standalone which is what I did. Fans of slow-burn, carefully plotted police procedurals will enjoy this one!

Thanks to @thrillerbookloversthepulse @camcat_books and @netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Marcy McCreary and CamCat Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Having recently discovered the work of Marcy McCreary, I gladly accepted this ARC to continue the Susan (and Will) Ford series. With mysteries that straddle two time periods, McCreary has a knack of pulling things in together without getting the reader too bogged down. A murder at a local theatre soon opens up mysteries five decades in the past forcing Detective Susan Ford to investigate with the help of others. However, nothing is quite as it seems and the connections, albeit apparent, do not make much sense. Marcy McCreary does well in this third novel and has me eager for more!

Detective Susan Ford is slightly nervous when she is assigned a new partner. When Jack Tomelli emerges on the scene with ideas and a spring in his step, Ford is slightly less anxious, but still somewhat on edge. The pair are called to the scene of a summer stage theatre, whose director has been murdered. His face is caked with stage makeup and arms bound before being smothered with a pillow. While this seems odd, it is only the beginning. When Susan speaks of the crime scene to her father, a retired detective himself, Will Ford remembers a similar crime he worked back in 1969. Could the two crime scenes be tied together?

While it is not likely that the same killer committed these recent crimes, there is an unnerving similarity that could mean a copycat is in play. Soon, Detectives Ford and Tomelli are sifting through the crime scene and the memories that Will brings to the table. They are able to make some tangential connections, which only deepen the mystery and have everyone scrambling to make links. While it might have been fifty years ago, some memories are indelibly inked onto the minds of those who were around in 1969, which helps create a vivid image and sets up an eerie motive for the recent murders.

Weighed down with the fact that another killing took place a few months before in Massachusetts, Detectives Ford and Tomelli rush to make sense of it all. There is an event in her personal life that derails Susan Ford for a time, forcing her to reassess working and her aging parents. With a killer on the loose and new evidence emerging, this is one case that no one wants to stretch out too long. When the pieces come together, it will take lightning speed and determination to ensure that nothing is left blowing in the wind. McCreary does well with this novel and keeps the reader in the middle of the action.

Marcy McCreary continues to impress me with this series, as she juggles two time periods with relative ease. The narrative flow between 2019 and 1969 connects seamlessly and helps to enrich the mystery at the core of the story. Strong development adds to the momentum and keeps the characters sharp and on point. While there are only a handful of faces who have returned from the past two novels, McCreary is able to add depth to them, while fashioning strong new characters to keep this story alive. I did enjoy the personal subplot that emerges when it comes to Susan Ford’s family and hope that there will be more to come in future novels.

Marcy McCreary not only developed two time periods in this piece, she uses them both to help develop keen plot points for all to enjoy., I have found the flash-forward/backward aspects of the previous two novels quite entertaining, but this piece needed both 2019 and 1969 to make things work well. I found the twists to be both useful and well placed to keep the reader on their toes. I am eager to see what will come and hope future ideas on plot development will make this series even better. While there were moments I needed the action to kick it up a notch, McCreary was able to find her rhythm and kept the reader in mind as she spun this formidable tale! And now we wait for more Susan Ford...

Kudos, Madam McCreary, for this gripping story that balances past and present effectively in another mystery.

The Summer of Love and Death
By: Marcy McCreary
The summer of 69, was remembered for The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, the Apollo II moon landing, free love, and murder…..

Detective Jack Tomelli and Detective Susan have to investigate the gruesome death of a man at the local summer stock theater. The director is found with make-up on his face and bound with rope. Susan’s dad is retired detective Will Ford. As Susan talks to her dad he recalls a similar case he worked on 50 years ago in 1969.

Could these cases be connected? Is this a copycat killer? This novel has a cast of characters filled with an intriguing case and plenty of twists and motives.