Murder and mayhem take Jessica Huntington to new heights when Libby Van Der Woert wants to meet at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The disturbed daughter of Jessica’s wealthy clients, Libby says she has information about her friend, Shannon Donnelly. Another mixed-up daughter of the rich and famous, no one has heard from Shannon Donnelly in over a week. Trouble begins the moment … Jessica greets Libby in the Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness. Wild, manic, and sure she’s being followed, Libby’s got a gun. All hell breaks loose when Libby’s Beverly Hills shrink shows up with a gun of his own.
What’s up with the missing and misguided daughters of wealth and privilege in Dr. Carr’s care? Jessica and her friends go toe-to-toe with more well-heeled heels in A DEAD DAUGHTER. Getting to the bottom of things Jessica-Huntington-style, sets off a whirlwind tour of fashionable enclaves, upscale rehab clinics, shops, restaurants and other haute hangouts. Behind all the glitz and glam: secrets, lies, corporate wheeling and dealing. How can Jessica and her friends outwit and outlive ‘la crème de la crud’ wreaking havoc from Palm Springs to Beverly Hills?
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A Dead Daughter starts off with lots of action and the climax is full of twists and surprises!. An entertaining book from start to finish. The action at the beginning of the book feels like the end of a case but just opens the door for more intrigue and suspense. Even though we know who is behind all the murder and mayhem, it definitely doesn’t detract from the story. I enjoy the way the story is serious but has plenty of humor and witty banter to keep it from getting dark. Each book in the series is a standalone but they are better read in order because the characters and their relationships evolve as the series progresses.
This review is for the audio book.
I really enjoyed this story not only because I like the characters but I liked the plot too and with the twists the story takes, you won’t see them all coming.
Jessica starts in trouble and things escalate from there and it’s not long before she and the cat pack are deep into another mystery. Jessica’s meets a clients daughter to see if she can patch things between them, where she learns some worrying things and is witness to a death, narrowly missing it becoming her own. Armed with the new information Jessica assigns her team to look into the dead doctor, who seemed to hurt more than helped his clients. With dead or missing daughters time is running out. At the same time Jessica also has family worries to contend with, adding to the problems it’s a good thing she had friends.
I like the narrator and hope she continues to read the rest of the books in the series, as for me she is the voice of Jessica Huntington.
A Dead Daughter is the third book in Anna Celeste Burke’s Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Series. Ms. Burke has written a well thought out and complex mystery, with a good story line, and excellent character development, and a wonderful balance of humor and heart that flows smoothly. This book is mix of cozy mystery, chilling psychological thriller, comedy, sweet romance, and addresses people struggling with various addictions. There is a lot going on in this book and Ms. Burke does an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends. I highly recommend this book.
Jessica Huntington has a knack for what some call meddling and placing herself in sticky situations but she just can’t control her compulsion to make things right. Nick and Nora Van Der Woert are her clients and their daughter, Libby, is a 30-something woman whose life was in tatters and is trying to destroy her parents lives. Even though Jessica doesn’t represent Libby, she responds to her request for a private meeting at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that ends with both women being hospitalized and Dr. Carr, Libby’s Beverly Hills psychiatrist, dying. During their time on the mountain, Libby reveals secrets about her life and her doctor. Through further investigation, Jessica learns that young women from wealthy families are missing and have been misguided and exploited, with money being used as manipulation that morphed from sexploitation to extortion. Jessica has her hands and mind full with the investigation and still trying to work through her parent’s divorce many years ago and her recent one, her shopping addiction, and the secrets her mother reveals to her about her life and illness. Jessica has a wonderful support system, the Cat Pack, which is an intriguing group of friends who help with her investigations and provide support and shelter from threats.