BOOK REVIEW - "DARK DESIGN" (THE ERIN DELANEY MYSTERIES BOOK TWO) BY NANCY MEHL

Who is murdering blonde haired women in the same style as in a murder mystery novel? Why was Erin Delaney's book one selected by that serial killer? And what will be the outcome of one of Delaney's sources claiming the book was stolen by Delaney?

"Dark Design" is the second book of The Erin Delaney Mysteries by Nancy Mehl, an exciting follow-up to "Shattered Sanctuary." It continues with the adventures and friendship of Erin Delaney and BAU profiler Kaely Quinn (who was the main character of a former Mehl trilogy Kaely Quinn Profiler, and made an appearance in "Dead Fall", the second of her Quantico Profilers series). 

As a second book, do you need to read the first book to know what's going on in the second? While I believe you can follow the story if you read this first and that you won't have the first book spoiled by reading this second, I still would recommend reading them in order. Also, do you need to read the Kaely Quinn trilogy and/or "Dark Fall" first to get to know Kaely? Not really. 

I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy (unless she surprises me and puts out a fourth book, which, considering the third is titled "Fatal Finale," would be a big surprise). I highly recommend it. But then, having read 22 Nancy Mehl books, you'd expect me to recommend her latest story. 

 

BOOK REVIEW - "SHATTERED SANCTUARY" (THE ERIN DELANEY MYSTERIES BOOK ONE) BY NANCY MEHL

 

Mystery Writer and former police-officer Erin Delaney's only friend is an ex-FBI Behavioral Analsyst she has never met in person; will that friendship endure spending some time together in an isolated cabin? Oh, did I mention that there is a ghost walking around? No? How about the body the local police discovered?

"Shattered Sanctuary" is the first book in Nancy Mehl's new "The Erin Delaney Mysteries," and it is what you expect. A well woven mystery. Creepy villains. A nail abiting Psychological Thriller. And it delivers.

Longtime Mehl readers like myself (this is my 21st novel of hers I've read) will be happy to see Kaely Quinn-Hunter return early in the story; Quinn was the main character in a previous series and guested in another novel ("Dead Fall"). My interest piqued with the title "Shattered Sanctuary" because Mehl also had a trilogy called "Finding Sanctuary," and I wondered if there was a return to that small Midwest town. It didn't take me long to realize this was another small town called "Sanctuary," this time in the Smokies.

Yes, this is the first in a series, and usually there is no need to worry about if you're spoiling a story by reading it out of order, but would the return of Kaely change that? In my opinion, not at all. Yes, reading the "Kaely Quinn Profiler" series would help you get to know her, and the same is true with "Dead Fall," but it won't have an effect with enjoying this new tale.

As usual, I highly recommend this novel by Nancy Mehl. By the way, I also recommend the"Kaely Quinn Profiler" trilogy and for that matter, the Quantico Files trilogy, of which "Dead Fall" is the middle story. And I'll add the "Finding Sactuary" series to the list, though it's in a different genre.