Blood Wine: A Quin and Morgan Mystery by John Moss

Release Date: June 17, 2014 (paperback)
Publisher: Dundurn
Series: Quin and Morgan Mystery

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
When Detective Miranda Quin wakes up to find the bloody body of her lover in her bed, she turns to her partner, Detective David Morgan, for support and guidance. She is unable to remember how she became the prime suspect in the investigation as both she and Morgan try to piece together the fragments of her memory.

What begins as an unofficial investigation turns into something much larger than either of the detectives could have ever imagined. After being shot at, nearly blown to bit pieces or drowned in a vat of wine, waking up with a dead body is the least of Quin's worries. Both she and Morgan are faced with an unknown yet resourceful enemy. Can they solve the investigation without one or both of them becoming victims? What do all the pieces mean for the world at large?

Review:
As a lover of mysteries and thrillers, I requested to review this book from NetGalley. There were many things that I enjoyed about the story but I was also confused at few points in the book. It very well may be a case of not having read the other books in the Quin and Morgan Mystery series. As this is the fourth book, most of the groundwork has already been written in the others.

The pacing of the book was pretty fast and steady, even in the confusing places. A lot of action scenes helped to keep my attention. There were a lot nail-biting moments for the main characters, as well as some of the supporting characters, that I felt added layers of vengeance and anxiety to the already heightened sense of paranoia both detectives were feeling.

Much of the interaction between characters seemed to be realistic to me. There were a few scenes where I felt confused and couldn't see why the people involved took the actions that they did. Truthfully, I'm one of the type of person who regularly suspends belief in order to really get into a book or a movie. I didn't have a problem with many of conversations or interactions where I was left thinking something was off. It was a mystery after all. We don't get everything laid out right at the beginning.

One scene in particular struck me as quite strange. Not long after the body was found in Quin's bed, she was back at home, alone and restless, when there was a knock at her door. Thinking it was her partner, she opened it without hesitation to find a traumatized woman on her doorstep. From the point where Quin begins to care for her to the arrival of both Morgan and another character was where the scene lost me. Quin refuses to let this stranger be taken from her home and instead cuddled with her in Quin's own bed after ushering her coworkers from her home. It didn't make sense with the events before or after that Quin would be so attached that quickly to a stranger.

Despite the confusion of that scene and a few other interactions, I found the story to be well thought out and engaging. The deeper I read, the larger the danger became. For me, that kept me turning pages to found out where all the connections were and how it was going to work out for everyone involved. Overall, it was a fast-paced thriller that nearly spanned the globe and was full intrigue and danger at the highest level. If you have read the previous books in the series or love multi-leveled mystery thrillers, then this is one book you should definitely consider adding to your reading list.

Blood Wine: A Quin and Morgan Mystery by John Moss will be available at many online retailers in June 2014. You can pre-order a copy from Amazon by clicking the link below.
Blood Wine: A Quin and Morgan Mystery by John Moss