Births, Marriages, and Deaths by Aliya Whitely

In case you didn't know, Shred of Evidence is back in the business of publishing original crime fiction. This is after a year long hiatus, but teh story chosen to kickstart things is a good one. From the first sentence, the protagonist builds suspense and it all pays off in the end.

The bulk of the story is the memory a young lady retains of a man, Charlie, she worked with on her first summer job when she was thirteen and he was sixty years older. Charlie sets the rules for her employment at a bed and breakfast and some of those rules are a little strange. Charlie likes magazines and wants her to bring whatever she finds in the guest rooms. But what if one of the guests misses the magazine, you ask. Well, read the story, and you'll see exactly what happens.

The simmer that the author is able to maintain throughout the story is well worth the read. The character of Charlie, especially, is well drawn and memorable.