Double Takedown
Kevin G Chapman
326 pages
Published December 1st, 2024
First Legacy Publishing
☠️☠️☠️☠️
This is the sixth instalment in the Mike Stoneman homicide detective series, which is set in New York City. I’ve read them all in order, and the evolving relationships between the characters are part of the charm of these books, but this would also work fine as a standalone mystery. The plot centres around two suspected poisoning cases – one of a stage actor during a charity ballet performance, the other of a socialite whose wild parties were the talk of her exclusive apartment complex, but neither death is as straightforward as it seems.
Senior detective Mike and his long-term partner Jason Dickson are enjoying a night out in the Lincoln Centre with their partners, when a cry goes out – someone in the front row has collapsed and needs urgent medical help. Jason’s wife Rachel, a former EMT rushes to help the patient, but it’s too late to save him, and it’s Mike’s wife, Chief Medical Examiner Michelle who discovers that the man was killed by a deadly prescription drug interaction. Then our heroes are put in charge of the death by overdose case of a young influencer – but was it suicide, an accident, or murder?
In both cases, our heroes must look beyond the obvious solution to find the truth and stop an innocent man being sent to prison, and a possible poisoner getting away with murder. This series has a nice balance between the heroes’ work and family lives – we get to see how Jason & Rachel are enjoying married life, and Mike & Michelle are coping with living together with their cat, Topsy! There’s enough action to make it an enjoyable thriller and a good array of suspects for mystery lovers. I look forward to continuing the series.
Thanks to Kevin for the opportunity to beta read this and then review the final version. Double Takedown is available now.
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