Pattern of Wounds book review

A brutal murder.
An unraveling conviction.

To catch the killer, Roland March must decipher the
PATTERN OF WOUNDS

Bodies left in the water, strange stab wounds in seeming pattern and Roland March connecting them like dots - the answer of which leads him to a killer already behind bars.

After reading countless "chick books" I chose one that seemed to say "dude book" or at least was more gender neutral than what I usually read. I actually love mysteries and have a few series filling my bookshelves.

The front cover says this is "A Roland March Mystery" and I learned it was part of an apparently ongoing series and that may be when I should have grabbed the first one and read it...you know...first.

As a result I felt like I was constantly playing catch up with the long list of secondary characters and I never could keep them all straight.

I think because I wasn't familiar with the characters and what was going on from the first book that this book didn't seem to go much of anywhere until partway through - until the "power point presentation" scene. But after that the pace was quick - pages were loaded with action, clues, and reveals. There were a few moments the hairs on the back of my neck were tickling from the intense creep-out.  Maybe I should warn you that this really is a murder mystery and they cover lots of crime drama subjects including stabbing, voyeurism, rape and various ways to kill and maim people.

I did figure out whodunit before the end but that's okay, sometimes I like feeling smart. So while the mystery itself was good, I just didn't love this book. I think I might like it better if I'd read the first and had a history with the main character.


Bethany House provided this book for the purposes of review. The opinions are entirely mine.