Book Review: Murder in Hindsight by Anne Cleeland

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Murder in Hindsight
*Series: A New Scotland Yard Mystery (Book 3)
Author: Anne Cleeland
Publisher: Kensington
Pages: 352
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Source: Netgalley
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Content Screening: Mild Violence

HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Readers who enjoy a good cop story and are fans of the series

Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | BookLikes

While Acton and Doyle, two of Scotland Yard’s finest, pursue a self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner, Acton’s own questionable methods may prove their undoing…
The victims are all criminals who eluded justice—until they ran afoul of an avenger whose modus operandi is a bullet to the back of the head. The key to the vigilante’s identity lies in connecting the cold cases to an event that may have triggered retribution after all these years.
Meanwhile, Doyle finds herself shadowed by a mysterious figure. After the man steps forward to rescue her from harm, she wonders why he is invested in protecting her. But when she learns he’s in contact with Acton’s nemesis, she fears she’s being used in a plot against her husband.
The stakes are high, and both Doyle and Acton must work independently to outwit the players—before their lives are brought crashing down like a house of cards…

I haven’t read the first two books in this series and while this can be read as a standalone novel, I felt that I was missing something through most of the book. Perhaps the history between the characters would have been helpful to keep me interested.

Not having history with the characters was a detriment to the story for me, however the characters were well developed individually. There was enough reference to their personal histories that I felt like I knew who they were. Doyle was interesting, rough around the edges and constantly putting herself in harms way. While that could have easily turned into too much risk, it teetered on the edge of reasonable for me so I enjoyed it.

Lord Acton was a bit elusive but Anne Cleeland did a great job with giving you his intentions even if she wouldn’t give you his innermost thoughts. Along with the other characters, it was a well rounded cast of law enforcement and criminals all privy to their own set of moral judgement. As with real life, judgement isn’t one person’s job.

There were a few twists and turns that were unexpected but all in all this just didn’t hit the mark for me. If you have read the first two in this series you would probably enjoy this book. It was well written and the plot flowed nicely.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.