Another winning new series by talented Ms. Diener. How many genres does Ms. Diener excel in? The answer - all of them. In this new series, the reader is transported into 1963 London. This is a mystery/suspense series and it catches my attention from the first few pages. Gabriella Farnsworth is a traffic warden. For those of us in the States, it would be a meter maid. One would think a character writing parking tickets wouldn't be interesting. One would be wrong. Gabriella's seemingly straightforward job brings her to the attention of all the wrong people.
I have to say, I hate parking tickets and I don't like when the meter maid comes to drop a ticket on my car windshield. I do my best never to get a parking fine. I never looked at it from Gabriella's perspective. Ms. Diener does a great job of bringing to life the ups and downs of walking through a set neighborhood to fine those who are parking illegally. Gabriella could come across as a mousy forgettable characters - since her job is lackluster. We learn very quickly there is more than meets the eye with Gabriella.
Her ability to pay attention to details and connect the dots of what she sees makes her an ideal witness. She does remind me of Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote. Gabriella seems to find dead bodies left and right. She becomes a person of interest for Detective Sergeant James Archer. James is intrigued by Gabriella. She is unassuming yet all arrows point to her being the most interesting person in his case of drugs, murder, and crime.
I loved how this story unfolded. I also love learning why Gabriella picked the job of being a traffic warden. There is a deeper mystery to solve and I want to know all about it. I'm hooked on this new series and I cannot wait to read the next book. This suspense/crime thriller is recommended to readers who enjoy murder mysteries with admirable characters.
* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
