Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Helpless by Annette Dashofy

 

 I have to admit that I've only read the first 4 installments in the long-running Zoe Chambers "cozy-ish" series. I gravitate toward grittier and darker mysteries than most cozy mysteries can provide but I'm fond of stories that can straddle the line between cozy and suspense mysteries. Anyway, I don't pay as much attention to series that I consider too mild/humorous/slow-moving but when I saw Helpless by Annette Dashofy offered by the publisher, I remembered why I started the series in the first place!

Helpless works well because it keeps the suspense ratcheted and the atmosphere intense. Zoe, by the way, is a paramedic & county coroner married to the PA small town's police chief. I don't think I've ever read a series featuring an EMT or paramedic first responder, and that is what pulled me in a few years ago. Somehow I lost track of this series but I'm excited to go back and read more of the books and see what I missed.

Helpless features a massive storm system barreling up the coast and hitting rural PA at the same time that Zoe and Pete are trying to solve the mystery of who killed their friend's wife and kidnapped their little daughter. They are tasked with doing this while the area floods out roadways, knocks down trees and power lines, and cuts phone service. This book is a bit different than those in the beginning of the series, at least in my opinion, by taking the suspense level up a few notches. I look forward to more of this series! Recommended!
thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance digital copy

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