The Case of the Murders at the Fairfield Heights: A Raymond Masters Mystery

The Case of the Murders at Fairfield Heights: A Raymond Masters Mystery

Book One

By Garrison Flint

“The Case of the Murders at Fairfield Heights”, written by Garrison Flint, is the first of a series of mysteries.  This first book is our introduction to Raymond Masters, who is the protagonist in a story about the greediness of humankind.  The book takes place in an old mansion named Fairfield Heights.  The estate belongs to Jasper Fairfield, who is very rich and is at the end of his life.  He has no friends and most of his family do not care about him, and are fighting over his money.  Masters is a retired detective who is asked to be present at the reading of Jasper Fairfield’s will. The one character in the family who is beloved by his great-grandfather, Jasper, is a teenage by the name of Johnny.  He is the only light in an otherwise dark environment.  The weekend began with one murder; and then another; and then another, until most of the heirs are dead.  These murders go unsolved until the very end of the book.

When I began this book, I thought that it moved too slowly; but as I read past the characterization, which was very descriptive, I really enjoyed the relationship between Johnny and Masters and the mysteries that came with every murder.  I would suggest to any mystery buff.  I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars, simply because it took me a while to get into it.

"The Brink" by Mark Fadden

“The Brink” by Mark Fadden, published by iUniverse, is a riveting book from the first to the last pages.  Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like if all of the power people including the multi-rich, bankers, and politicians, got together and plotted to shape “international financial conspiracies” to eventually raise them in power and create a single world government?  No more nations; no more democracy; no more freedom.  That is the premise of this edge-of-the-seat thriller. “Keeping the world balanced is a bitch sometimes.” 

The main characters, Danny Cavanaugh and Sydney Dumas, are locked together in this masterpiece of mystery and suspense.   When we first meet Danny, he is at his lowest point.  He literally has his service revolver in his mouth.  His career as a detective is all but over because he got set up on the job.  Then he met Sydney, who is running through the woods outside of Danny’s cabin, wearing nothing but her panties and bra.  She is running for her life, as men are chasing her, guns blaring.  This brings Danny out of his funk immediately, as he races out to investigate.  He finds a beautiful woman, shivering with fear.  This is the beginning of a rip-roaring time together, trying to stop the evil plot.

I normally do not go for novels that are based on government.  I love mystery; I love suspense; I love courtroom drama.  Little did I know that this book holds it all, from an outrageous lawsuit to a suspenseful plot for a single world government.  The mysterious plot is not wholly revealed to the reader until the end of the book.  Then, they encounter a most unthinkable end.  Talk about suspense and mystery?  You cannot get much better than Mr. Madden’s, “The Brink”.

"The Family Buried" by W.R. Parrish

“I am recording this for two reasons.  The first: so you understand…And second: to preserve”.  This is where “The Family Buried” by W.R. Parrish, tells us the reason for this short story.  And yet, it is so vague, as to entice reader to read on about the account of a man.  A lonely man, whose sanity is in question very early in the story.    The story is based on a single character who finds a dreadful secret about his family; a secret so gruesome as to drive any normal man to the brink of insanity.   “ …I’d been led to the container by mysterious circumstances.”  

The style of this story is no different from “One Day in October”, a novel written by Mr. Parrish.  It is full of metaphors that describe the surroundings so well, that the reader can see in their mind’s eye, feel, taste, hear, and smell what our character experiences. This narrative left me with the same feeling of dread that the character felt, which only goes to show how well Parrish writes. 

 In his background, he has a mixture of religion and a love of horror movies, both of which are prevalent in his writing.  Although I am not a fan of the horror genre, I am a fan of Mr. Parrish, and I would read anything that he wrote.  “The Family Buried” is 20 pages long and a tale that reads very fast.  One warning:  do not read at night!

"If Looks Could Kill" by Kate White

“If Looks Could Kill” by Kate White, is the first of a series featuring the character, Bailey Weggins.  This series is full of suspense and mystery, with a soupcon of wit.  It takes place in the fast paced world of magazines.  Baily is a freelance writer who works for Gloss, a magazine aimed at today’s woman.   She contributes true crime articles to the publication . Her sometimes friend, Cat, is the editor of Gloss, and she is in trouble.  Cat is the object of an attempted murder spree, and she turns to Bailey to find her would-be killer.

I gave this book three stars however, if I could, I would give it three and half.  I enjoyed the plot and liked the main character.  However, I found most of the supporting characters almost exactly alike, which made it hard for me to follow who did what to whom.  This book is an entertaining and fast read  Although it is a novel, it has the feel of short novel and a cozy mystery.  I will try the next  Bailey Weggins book before I make a decision to quit the series.

"Split Second" by David Baldacci

“Split Second” by David Baldacci was the #1 bestseller according to New York Times, as well it should have been.  This first installment of the explosive team, King and Maxwell, starts at the moment when the two meet.  From this instant on, the ex-Secret Service agent, King, and the somewhat tarnished agent, Maxwell, are thrown together in the most dangerous of situations.  The mystery that they are trying to untangle is, from the very beginning, baffling.  To make matters worse, as soon as they unweave one strand of the puzzle, ten more are added.  Like a snowball rolling downhill, King and Maxwell are confronted with a chilling dilemma, the solution of which not even the reader could fathom. It is a surprisingly confusing web brought on by a love story that is described as being “a sick, twisted version of [love]”.  The reader finds that King and Maxwell “move at the speed of light” to find a mad man and thwart another of his murderous schemes. 
As I found Mr. Baldacci’s book a delight to read, I gave it five out of five stars.  His mesmerizing style kept me jumping from one suspect to another until the very end, when it all becomes clear.  I found myself asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?”  “For a moment there I thought the fairy-tale ending would actually happen”, but I was wrong…or was I?  When Sean King lost that “specter of guilt that had haunted him” for years, Michelle Maxwell says to him, “You can rebuild [your life], better than before”, leaving it wide open for their next action-packed case together.  That installment of this wonderful series is patiently waiting for me to crack the spine.

"The Spark"

“The Spark” is about a firefighter, Donny Robertson, who goes from problem to problem as he tries to solve the killing of his friend, Fitz.  Fitz’s death looks innocent enough to everyone but Donny.  It began when Fitz and Donny answered a call that seemed to be a routine fire. Once in the building, Fitz got split up from Donny when he tried to save a man in an office, who turned out to be dead before the fire was set. Fitz was caught in the room and burned to death.  The fire was ruled an accident, but Donny thought differently.  He just could not accept what the other firefighters were saying.  So, he started to dig into the cause of the fire.  In doing so, he found himself the subject of an assassin.  However, that did not stop him from snooping around and he eventually met “The Spark”, who was hired to kill the inventor who was the original target.

“The Spark” is a first-time novel by John Kenny that was first available last month.  It is the most exciting first-time book that I have ever read.  It is full of tension and suspense.  Kenny has a background in firefighting, so it gives the reader a peek into a firefighter’s exciting life.  I, for one, am waiting for Mr. Kenny to decide to write another book, as his style is fast-paced and easy to follow.  I would suggest this book to anyone who is a fan of suspense, drama or mystery.

"Power" by Debra Webb

“Power” by Debra Webb is the third book in the series, “The Faces of Evil”.  It covers a week in the life of Deputy Chief Jess Harris.  It is not as fast paced as the first two installments, but still Jess solves two very different cases.  One was an unexpected murder that took place in a high class dance class.  The co-owner and dance teacher is killed in the first few pages.  As the victim lay dying, the killer whispered a cryptic message in her ear.  “Dead ballerinas don’t get to dance”.  Jess has too many suspects and too little time to solve this mystery.

In the meanwhile, a young man disappears from his grandparents’ loving home.  This baffling case leads to the demolition of Jess’ hotel room.  There, another message is scrawled on the wall with spray paint, like graffiti; “THE RAGE HAS STARTED”.  This is the beginning of a street gang war, in which a brother and sister fight for the lead position of the most powerful gang in the area.

“Power” was not my favorite of the series so far, but it was still well-written with Ms. Webb’s style of tension and suspense.  I enjoy this series’ characters, especially Jess and Burnett, whose history together adds another layer to the mystery.  The next book in the series is “Rage”, which I am excited to read.