Lucinda Pierce Mystery series
 | |
| Author | Diane Fanning |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Severn House |
Publication date | 2011 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 223 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7278-6945-6 |
The Lucinda Pierce Mystery series is a book series written by American non-fiction author and novelist Diane Fanning, debuted in 2008 with The Trophy Exchange. The four-part series, released by Severn House in the UK and US, features Virginia Homicide Detective Lucinda Pierce as she follows the evidence and investigates murders. Known for her non-fiction true crime books, Publishers Weekly described the series as "double duty for Fanning."[1]
Publishers Weekly, in a later review of Twisted Reason, fourth in the series, wrote, "Edgar-finalist Fanning skillfully illuminates the heartbreaking challenges facing Alzheimer’s victims and their families in her fourth mystery featuring Virginia homicide detective Lucinda Pierce."[2] Also with the release of Twisted Reason, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung newspaper wrote, because Alzheimer's was something the author had witnessed first-hand with her father and father-in-law, "When New Braunfels author Diane Fanning wrote Twisted Reason, the fourth in the Lucinda Pierce mystery series, she cried as she wrote certain passages."[3]
Plot summaries
[edit]The Trophy Exchange
[edit]In the first of the series, life’s been rough for Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce. She lost an eye and disfigured her face responding to a domestic violence call. Now, she's up against a serial killer, and her main suspect is a respected doctor known for his international relief work. It's a good thing Pierce doesn't mind bending the rules.[4]
Punish the Deed
[edit]A mutilated body is found sprawled on an office kitchen's floor. Beside it a note read: "I was left behind." Homicide Detective Lucinda Pierce chases a killer whose targets are heads of nonprofit agencies. No good deed goes unpunished.[5]
Mistaken Identity
[edit]In a suburban home, a woman’s body is carefully laid out on a bed. In the bathroom, a male corpse is missing both its head and its hands. When the victims’ 13-year-old son claims his father is immortal, Lieutenant Pierce suspects that the family has something to hide.[6]
Twisted Reason
[edit]A missing elderly man with Alzheimers shows up dead on his son’s front porch, leading homicide detective Lucinda Pierce to a man who did all the wrong things for all the right reasons and to a strange little Wonderland built with a little money and much imagination.[7]
False Front
[edit]When Candace Eagleton is murdered after her marriage is revealed to be a scam, Lucinda Pierce vows to catch the killer.[8]
Wrong Turn
[edit]When the body of Emily Sherman is found in the basement of a serial killer, Homicide Detective Lucinda Pierce must go back to the original case to right the wrong she did years ago.[9]
Chain Reaction
[edit]Lucinda Pierce comes face-to-face with terrorism when she is called out to the site of a bomb blast at a local high school.[10]
Reviews
[edit]Kirkus Reviews' 2008 review of The Trophy Exchange described author Fanning as producing "an exciting, emotionally intense story with a complex heroine whose future adventures will be widely anticipated."[11]
Kirkus wrote in 2010 when Punish the Deed was released that Lucinda "is such a strong heroine that she should engage many readers."[12]
For Twisted Reason, Kirkus wrote, "As usual, Fanning poses Lucinda a quirky mystery, this time providing a thoughtful look at the stress of those caring for loved ones with dementia."[13]
Library Journal, in its review of Twisted Reason, said that "true crime author Fanning brings a rare brand of realism to her work."[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Publishers Weekly, "Book News," "Double Duty for Fanning," November 16, 2007 (scroll down)
- ^ Publishers Weekly, "Twisted Reason," November 15, 2010 Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New Braunfels author of true crime novels pens new mystery", New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, December 20, 2010 (requires subscription)
- ^ Amazon page, The Trophy Exchange, July 1, 2008
- ^ Amazon page, Punish the Deed, March 1, 2009
- ^ Amazon, Mistaken Identity, December 1, 2010
- ^ Twisted Reason, January 1, 2011
- ^ False Front, March 1, 2012 Archived November 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wrong Turn February 1, 2013 Archived February 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chain Reaction, March 1, 2014 Archived February 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, "The Trophy Exchange," June 1, 2008
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, "Mistaken Identity," April 1, 2010
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, "Twisted Reason," November 1, 2010
- ^ Library Journal, "Mystery Reviews," December 2010 Archived 2011-04-25 at the Wayback Machine