The White Heron by Jane H. Bock/Review by Saralyn Richard
The White Heron
By Carl and Jane Bock
Whiz Bang
$14.95
ISBN 978-1733011921
Publication Date: June 2019
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
2020 Silver Falchion Finalist
The White Heron has all the ingredients for a masterful whodunit. There’s tension that starts from Hurricane Irma (well-described) and progresses to man-made conflicts. Having lived on the Gulf Coast for much of my life, and having experienced hurricanes first-hand, I found the book’s depictions to be authentic. The characters are realistic and relatable. The protagonist, Sam, has just the right amount of integrity and macho-ism to keep him immersed in solving three murders, despite obstacles and hardships that threaten his physical well-being and personal life.
Anyone who is interested in botany, biology, and ornithology will delight in reading about the ways they intersect with the deaths and investigations. The plot is also filled with irony, suspense, foreshadowing, and symbolism to keep the reader turning pages. Although the book is part of a series, I read it as a standalone, and I didn’t feel lost from lack of backstory knowledge.
The way that three separate deaths come together may seem contrived, although these things do happen in real life at times, and the authors’ pacing and plot structure helps in making the plot work. I was plunged forward with little time to catch my breath between episodes, and I read the whole book in three sittings.
Award-winning mystery and children’s book author, Saralyn Richard, was a teacher who writes, but now she’s a writer who teaches. Murder in the One Percent has received outstanding reviews and several awards. It was listed as a best suspense/thriller of 2018 by Hungry for Good Books. Her children’s picture book, Naughty Nana, has reached thousands of children worldwide.
Saralyn is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.