The Redgrave Murders by A.L. Sowards

The Redgrave Murders by A.L. Sowards ISBN-13: 9781524409456 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Covenant Communications Released: July 1, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Loss is inevitable, as Evie Hampton knows all too well. But despite losing her mother to cancer and her older brother to a war, she knows she’s one of the lucky ones. After all, she still has her father, a distinguished professor of medieval history. And she has Gary Redhawk, the man she loves despite the emotional scars he carries from the Second World War—and despite her father’s opposition to their relationship.

Then her car's brakes fail, sending Evie careening off the road. Little does she know a host of hardships is just beginning—the car was her father’s, and the brake lines were deliberately cut. Someone wants them dead—but why? The police suspect Gary because of his troubled past, but Evie is unwilling to believe he’s involved. Determined to uncover the truth, she begins to investigate, but it's soon clear that someone is determined to silence her—and the next attempt on her life may be a deadly success.


My Review:
The Redgrave Murders is a romantic suspense set in 1948 in New York. Evie loves a WWII veteran who struggles with flashbacks of traumatic events from his past. They're also facing prejudice because he's Seneca (Native American). When Evie's father is murdered, her grief is made worse by the police assuming her boyfriend did it. She's determined to prove that he didn't. She's distracted from reasoning out whodunit by the grief of losing loved ones, worry for her boyfriend, and trying to stay alive despite the repeated attempts to kill her. Gary helps Evie with investigating whodunit, but he's struggling with his past ghosts, prejudice, and staying alive.

The mystery was clue-based, though there weren't many clues. I still quickly narrowed it down and strongly suspected the correct whodunit for the whole story. I understand why the kind and caring hero and heroine didn't suspect or really have time to reason things out, but I'm baffled as to why the detective didn't think of whodunit. The motive was pretty obvious and much more reasonable than the ones that Gary and Evie came up with for their suspects. Also, once they finally suspected the motive, there was something obvious they could have done to make Evie no longer a target, yet they don't do it.

Anyway, it was suspenseful, and I cared about what happened to the main characters. Gary respected Evie and was trying his best to keep a positive attitude despite the challenges he faced. Evie was loyal to those she cared about. They built each other up. I enjoyed the historical details about WWII and the challenges faced by veterans and minorities. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical suspense.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.