#BookReview The Mermaids Scream by Kate Ellis @PiatkusBooks

The Mermaids Scream by Kate Ellis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Why did Wynn Staniland, a legend in the literary world, suddenly become a recluse in the 1980s? Most assumed he stopped writing because of his wife's bizarre suicide; a death that mirrored a murder case from the nineteenth century. And now a promising young author called Zac Wilkinson is working on Staniland's biography and hopes to reveal the true story to a waiting world - while at the same time keeping his own troubled past hidden from public view.

When Wilkinson is found brutally murdered, DI Wesley Peterson finds links to the unexplained poisoning of a middle-aged couple at a local caravan park - and Wynn Staniland appears to be the connection.

As Wesley delves further into the case he suspects a sinister puppet show might provide the solution: a grim re-enactment of the murder of Mary Field, a cause celebre from the reign of Queen Victoria that inspired Staniland's best-known novel.

The case becomes personal for Wesley when he discovers his son is involved, and as he begins to unravel decades of secrets and deception, the shocking truth proves almost too much to bear . ..

**********

The Mermaids Scream is the third book I have read in this series and since this is book 21 have I missed a couple. However, they are perfectly alright to read stand-alone. The cases are closed after each book and the private lives of the characters are easy to figure out and follow.

In this book must DI Wesley Peterson try to figure out why someone would want to kill a young writer, Zac Wilkison, who was writing a biography of the legendary recluse author Wynn Staniland. As that is not enough is Wesley caught up in the case when he and a young friend stumbles over the dead body of Wilkison.

The Mermaids Scream plot sounded more interesting than it was. To be honest, was I not sure that I could finish this book because I found the story to be a bit slow. However, I decided to keep going and see if it would get better. But, alas, this is a story that just never got either really interesting nor thrilling. However, I did find the ending to be OK. And, that is at least something that the book was wrapped up nicely. The historical flashback to the murder of Mary Field through diary notes also something I found more in the way rather than a gain to the story. It felt more like an unwelcome interruption to the story. Personally, I think my biggest problem is that I have a hard time connecting to the characters in the books, which is strange since the first book I read in the series, The Death Season, was fabulous. The two after (including this) has just interested me as much as that one did.

Hopefully, the next one will be better!

I want to thank Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!