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A Pointed Death introduces Nola Billingsly, a quirky, forty-something techno consultant who finds herself playing amateur detective in order to solve the murder of her former employee, Roger Chen.
After Roger embezzles money from her startup companies, Nola’s business goes belly up. But that’s not the end of it. While out walking her shorthaired pointer, Skootch, she first encounters Roger’s headless body resting on a park bench—then she stumbles over his head a few feet away. Though she was furious with him for stealing from her, she never would have wished such a fate on him.
Since Roger’s death, the police are now focusing on his murder rather than his embezzling schemes. Detective Bob Harrison—a possible new love interest—warns Nola to leave the police work to the professionals. But does she listen? Of course not.
Disturbed by Roger’s death, Nola is compelled to discover what lead to his end, and she starts digging into the last company he worked for—Ancient Turtle. She can’t seem to pin down what, exactly, they produce—and the only clue is a box that contains some kind of herb that was shipped to Roger before his death. It seems that Roger tried to play with the big boys and got in over his head.
A Pointed Death is a pleasantly surprising self-published mystery that will appeal to single women in their forties who just can’t seem to get a relationship to work, but who are smart, successful, and sassy, and who know how to handle their own lives—in other words, everything that Nola Billingsly is.
I do have to admit that most things pertaining to biotechnology and Nola’s consulting position often left me confused. I never quite grasped what the companies consulted Nola for—but that’s probably more my fault than the author’s. However, the mystery surrounding Roger’s death and the budding relationship between Nola and Bob were more than enough to keep me hooked and entertained.
I also enjoyed reading about Janie Belle (Nola’s mother). She’s an engaging woman with a Southern flair, though she’s been transplanted to San Francisco, where she enjoys putting on peculiar hats and clothes and goes out to shock the locals. She definitely stands out.
With just the right amount of romance combined with a tricky mystery, A Pointed Death is a fine start to the Pointer Mystery Series, and I suspect that each new addition will only get better and better. I look forward to reading more from this newcomer.
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