Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Tips for Living by Renee Shafransky

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: ' Tips for Living', A Murder Mystery by Renee Shafransky.

In Tips for Living, by Renee Shafransky, we meet Nora, a woman who had the perfect life until the truth came through. Finding out that her husband had an affair was not the worst of it. The fact that he made another woman pregnant, that was the breaking point.

To help rebuild her life and confidence she moves to a small resort town some distance from her previous home in New York City. Here she begins to pick up the shattered pieces of betrayal and hurt. She still understands that all will take time, and that she must get beyond her past. She finds a new job and works to make a name for herself in this new home.

Suddenly the past comes crashing through. Her ex-husband and his new family have bought a home in her new town. Not only that but the new wife has joined her yoga group, and she is now in closer proximity than is comfortable. As her life again begins to swirl downward, a murder occurs that shatters her resolve in such a way that her life once again falls apart.

Who killed her ex-husband and his wife and why does she have no memory of the night it happened? Where did the injuries on her hand and arms come from and why can’t she understand her memory loss?

Trying to hold herself together she becomes a suspect in a crime she is sure she did not commit. Asking questions, she puts herself in the cross-hairs of one who will kill to keep a secret from coming out.

Can she help to find the answers to both the murders and her memory before she becomes a casualty as well? The secrets are layered in piles that hide them among the twigs of truth. Can she free herself from betrayal once again, and help solve the brutal murder of her ex-husband and his wife?

Shafransky does a wonderful job of creating scenarios that create questions and her characters are so real you would believe you know them. Her characterization of them brings you to some that remind you of those you know in your own circles. The realism is quite well done.

If you enjoy murder mysteries and crime stories you will find this a great addition to your library. The work is fast paced and keeps you digging for the truth.

This would be a great work for a reading group or book club with many avenues of discussion.

Rating 3/5

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