Lights...Camera...Murder!

Lights...Camera...Murder! by Loretta C. Rogers
4/5

This book was sent to me on Netgalley.com to review.

I enjoyed this classic whodunit mystery. If I may, i got some major Longmire vibes. It kepted me guessing but didn't hurt my brain to figure out. My one complaint? Things didn't start working together until the very end. Usually I can grab some things and rope them to the final reveal but this one? Not so much.

Tullah is the local veterinarian who moonlights as her father's, the sheriff, secret weapon. With a deep connection to her Cherokee roots, she uses her knowledge and intuition to help solve the case of the murdered movie star.

I enjoyed this book. I loved that the main character takes care of animals. The cast of characters relationships are a little confusing. The whole mystery is confusing, with lots of twists and turns. #Lights…Camera…Murder #NetGalley

unputdownable, forensic-anthropology, forensics, premonitions, recipes, veterinarian, law-enforcement, Cherokee, amateur-sleuth, cultural-heritage, family, relatives, murder-investigation, murder, small-town, small-business, rural, pets, tv-film-industry, movie-star, series, dramatic, animal-welfare, therapy-animals, stuntperson, empathic, friends*****

Tullah (Doc) Holliday is a (primarily) large animal veterinarian in a rural area of Kentucky who was once very good in her studies in Forensics. Until her own mother was murdered. So, she switched to veterinary medicine but kept many of her close friends. She lives in a house on her own land which also contains a specialized barn and her veterinary clinic. Her mother was Cherokee and her father is the local sheriff. All of the townspeople work together, especially in this time of budget cuts, so having a film crew come into town with their money seemed to be a good idea. Until the first two deaths. I found this one every bit as riveting as the first two!
I requested and received an EARC from The Wild Rose Press, Inc via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is the second book I read featuring Tallulah, a veterinary that helps her sheriff father. It's another gripping and well plotted mystery that kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

3.75⭐️
Well, the plot was engaging but it didn’t quite prove to be a mind blowing mystery. There were a few things which weren’t explained fully. Not sure if I missed the part where they mentioned how Tullah’s mother died or this wasn’t explained at all. The other thing which is unsettling for me is the stuntman’s murder. They concluded that the bullet used to kill Lou was matched with that of Cody’s revolver. But did he really kill him? If yes, then what was his motive?
Nonetheless, it won’t be disappointing if you give it a read :)
The fact that I got this book through NetGallery doesn’t affect my review.

Lights...Camera...Murder! is the third Doc Holiday mystery by Loretta C. Rogers. Released 17th Aug 2022, it's 212 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Dr. Tullah Holliday is a veterinarian who winds up assisting yet another investigation when a death occurs on the site of a local film production company on location in her rural Kentucky town. It's an ensemble cast of well drawn characters including Dr. Holliday, her father (the local sheriff), her grandmother (the town mayor), and her veterinary assistant, Ella.

The author is adept at characterization and setting. It's a fast read and very engaging. There's also a significant paranormal element which ties into the Cherokee belief system and Dr. Holliday's own intuitions and insights as the investigation proceeds. It's not a large part of the plot, but it is there. There's also some -very- questionable medical plot tie-ins concerning sexually transmitted diseases. I can only assume the author confused HPV with chlamydia and it made it through the editing process without question. That yanked me out of the story. I suspect it might not be a problem for most readers who don't work in histopathology; but it is inaccurate as written. (80% of humans will acquire HPV in their lifetimes, it clears without any treatment or intervention in over 90% of cases. In fact, most people never know they've had it. Chlamydia on the other hand....).

With three books extant in the series at this point, it would be a good choice for a weekend binge or buddy read.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.