MURDER at the MIKADO by Julianna Deering

Drew Farthering and Madeline Parker are engaged to be married and having a small dinner party with Nick and Mr. Landis, employees of Drew’s company, along with Mr. Landis’ wife. Naturally, Drew is surprised to find that Mrs. Landis is Fleur, a woman who broke his heart years ago and has not seen since that time. Three days after the dinner party Fleur calls on Drew, who dabbles in private investigations in his spare time, to help her in discovering who killed her ex-lover actor Johnnie Ravenswood before she becomes the prime suspect.

Madeline is adamant regarding Drew not helping Fleur in her present situation and Drew agrees until Mr. Landis approaches him to take the case and prove his wife innocent of any wrongdoing. Drew, Nick, and Madeline begin their investigation into the case and find that an associate of Johnnie Ravenswood claims he saw Fleur leaving the crime scene not actually see her face but only the black cloak she owns. After two other murders occur at the same theater, the amateur sleuths discover someone is purposely framing Fleur Landis for the killings but they cannot find a motive.

Fleur’s return puts a strain on Drew’s relationship with Madeline and she gives him an ultimatum to quit the case or break their commitment to marry. Drew gives in to Madeline only to have Ravenswood’s wife blackmail him to continue the investigation with information regarding the identity of Drew’s mother. How can Drew solve the murder case and keep his commitment to Madeline without losing the chance to receive the whereabouts of his mother?

Murder at the Mikado is full mystery, suspense, drama, and plot twists that will have you wondering who the culprit is committing the killings. Readers will turn the pages quickly to reach end of the novel and prove they picked the wrong person of the long list of suspects. I recommend this book to amateur sleuths and crime drama lovers because you will not be disappointed with this clever storyline.

I received this book free from Bethany Publishers reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.