A quiet death in a small town. A double homicide in the big city. Only a murderer knows they’re connected.Whitman County Sheriff Tom Jessup wants a nice, safe county. Unfortunately, things are about to get deadly.A seemingly normal death points Jessup north where he finds Detectives Quinn Delaney and Marci Burkett investigating a double murder.Their cases are tied together by blood—family blood, … murder.
Their cases are tied together by blood—family blood, but nothing else.
Or so it seems.
To further their investigation, Delaney and Burkett turn to a man they don’t trust. He’s a questionably motivated officer who seems to answer only to himself. Meanwhile, Sheriff Jessup struggles to connect the cases across county lines.
As the deaths continue to mount, the four race in opposite directions, each hunting a killer in their own ways.
Will they find him before he strikes again?
Or will distance and department politics let a killer escape?
The Blind Trust is the third book in The 509 Crime Stories, a series of novels set in Eastern Washington with revolving lead characters. If you like police procedurals with compelling personalities, then you’ll love this story.
Pick up the The Blind Trust and discover this exciting new series today!
more
This book is Conway’s best so far. A complex murder mystery involving estranged brothers, all recipients of a blind trust. The setting is eastern Washington, Spokane to tiny farming towns where the victims reside. The investigation begins with a double murder with fake evidence as a not quite “natural” death occurs in another county. As the investigations intertwine, the list of suspects grows and the tension ramps up to an unexpected conclusion. Couldn’t put it down.
In The Blind Trust, Conway juggles multiple storylines( that may or may not have connections) with great aplomb. Alternating between small town Sheriff Tom Jessup (he of the Murder By the Roadside fame), big(ish) city homicide investigators Delaney and Burkett (leads from The Side Hustle), and shady police detective James Morgan, Conway weaves a tale about estranged brothers and broken families that will linger with you long after you finish the read. If you guess the ending, you’re one of the few.
Conway excels at drawing characters that are vibrant and real, and in capturing the flavor of the different environments they are thrust into. Small town Colfax rightfully feels a world apart from the bigger city of Spokane, and the reader feels very present in each location due to Conway’s succinct, crisp description. With the characters, each individual voice is varied, from speech patterns to how s/he sees the world, and the reader is drawn into the perspective of whoever’s point of view is on display.
The mystery itself is a twisted mess (in a good way) and the author is entirely fair with the reader in terms of clues.
Another strong entry in the 509 series!
The Blind Trust by Colin Conway
A 509 Crime Story #3
Set in the 509 area code of Washington State this series deals with various law enforcement officers dedicated to solving crimes. This story has dysfunctional families for generations, greed aplenty, murders, twisted thinking, a cop that made me wonder why he was still on the force and the police procedural aspects that lead to the conclusions Jessup, Burkett and Delaney came up with to solve their cases.
What I liked:
* The way the story unfolded
* The police procedural aspects of the story
* The twist or two that surprised me
* Getting to see Dallas Nash from book two of the series
* Knowing that the murders were solved
* The character development
* Insider insight into how police might interact with one another on the job
What I did not like:
* The bad guys I was meant to dislike
* The blind trust that set the murders in motion
* Morgan
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I like to read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Tom Jessup is cool. The connections are tricky and tenuous. The cops connect the dots in a picture that doesn’t make sense. Well done.
I enjoyed this book but it was a little long and the ending was too fast. Make sense!?
I had to keep reading to find out the ending.
This Series is getting better and better. I like the variety of detectives, and the Sheriff in this one. The mystery was not difficult but still interesting.
This great mystery novel has a lot of twists and turns for three law enforcement agencies. Tight writing with good descriptions and well drawn characters really involve the reader. Recommend.