As Liv Bergen investigates the long-ago murder of her niece, she uncovers a well-guarded secret—and stumbles into one the most prolific killer she’s faced yet
Once an amateur sleuth, Liv “Boots” Bergen has now found her footing as an official FBI agent. It should be Liv’s dream career—she’s working closely with a bureau legend, Agent Streeter Pierce, as well as the exotic Agent Jack Linwood, … Linwood, with whom she shares a growing romance. Liv has proven to be an adept agent, and the whole office has been moved to a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in central Denver.
And yet, doubt plagues her. Liv is tormented by the knowledge that her work with the FBI could endanger her extended family—and has almost resolved to leave the bureau as a result. Agent Streeter Pierce, who harbors an affection for Liv that sometimes transcends the professional, comes up with an unorthodox plan to keep her around: she can investigate a cold case that’s especially important to her, the kidnapping and murder of her ten-year-old niece, Brianna.
Liv jumps at the chance, but her focus on finding Brianna’s killer is soon diluted. Piece by piece, the case reveals itself to be just one point in a harrowing series of murders. Spanning decades and the country, the web of crime Liv uncovers causes her to question everything—including the integrity of her own colleagues.
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The Liv Bergen mysteries are not only well written, they are interesting to read. It’s not all Joe Friday and “just the facts, ma’am.” I know, I’m dating myself there. As I have progressed through the series, I have learned things about a part of the country I have never had the pleasure to visit. I have learned about mines and quarries. I have met a large family whose full lives are a model for us all. No, they are not perfect, but they seem to genuinely like each other, love each other, and respect each other. These are not hard-boiled cop books, they are mysteries as seen through the intelligent eyes of a puzzle solver.
Never discount anything in the Liv Bergen mysteries as trivial. Sandra Brannan will pick up the thread somewhere along the way and run with it. Back in book two, Liv mentions her nephew Noah, just one sentence. At the time, I knew there was a book with Noah in its title and I wondered then if one plus one would equal two.
Bad things seem to happen to and around Liv; however, in the end things work out for the best. That’s not to say the end is a happily ever after, but it is a satisfying conclusion to the story just ending. Literary license makes it possible for stories about these places with small populations to circle back to the large Bergen family. In small towns, everybody knows everybody else and most of each other’s secrets. Cold cases in this part of the world seem not all that common in general terms, but finding links that tie more than one such case to another is law enforcement officer’s dream. Perhaps not one, but multiple cold cases can be solved by pulling on the right thread.
I also like the fact that Sandra Brannan takes the time to show compassion to the less fortunate among us. Again, no Joe Friday, but a nod to real caring for those less fortunate. And, she does it in such a way that the overall story is enhanced. I don’t know that I’ve seen any other author weave such individuals into the very heart of a murder mystery and have it work out so successfully.
At the end of SOLOMON’S WHISPER, there is a question and answer section that is well worth reading. Ms. Brannon explains the Biblical references in the titles and how she uses them in ways that make her books not Christian fiction. She talks about her process. The best, for me, was reading that she ‘sees’ her books as movies in her head. I have to say that turning any of these books into a movie would work for me. I always enjoy getting inside the mind of an author I enjoy reading.
I would be remiss not to remind you that this is the fifth book in the Liv Bergen mystery series, and that you will be doing yourself a big disservice to start here. Go get book one and read your way through. You will be glad you did. I was!