Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: A Body on the Hill
SERIES: A Mitch O’Reilly Mystery #2
AUTHOR: Brad Shreve
PUBLISHER: Beeson Press
LENGTH: 227 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2020
BLURB:
PI Mitch O’Reilly is hired by big time Hollywood director T.J. Mooney to follow his son, Austin, who is trying to start an acting career without riding the coattails of his powerful father. T.J. isn’t happy his beloved son has changed his last name and chooses to live in a sketchy neighborhood rather than the family mansion in Bel Air.
To Mitch it’s another routine stakeout until a body is found below the Hollywood Sign. Evidence shows the person wasn’t killed on the hill. Instead, someone went through the trouble of dragging the victim through the trail and dumped them there. Was the killer sending a message? If so, deciphering that message could lead Mitch to solving the crime.
REVIEW:
Well, I have one complaint. My heart is broken. I know the reasons why, but still….Trent. *sobs*
This is another one heck of a mystery. I was close to actually getting it right this time. I swear I need to go to a mystery 101 class, because I think I’ve lost my touch. Or maybe it’s just the author did that good of moving things around so you couldn’t figure it out. 😉 It’s a great story. Everything a good murder mystery needs. And I’m loving this series.
Mitch was shocked when he was hired to tail Austin, famous T.J.’s son. Especially when after tailing him on and off for a few days and talking to a few people, Austin seemed like the perfect kid. But when Austin ends up dead, someone definitely doesn’t like Austin and Mitch wants to know who. Especially since he fell asleep during his watch. But T.J. doesn’t want him around, he’s not the nicest man, and the family seems all kinds of screwed up. But Mitch doesn’t get how bad until Austin’s mother hires him to find the killer. The more he digs into this murder, the more things are coming out. And they aren’t pretty pictures. The list of suspects is growing longer by the minute and it’s getting harder to deal with it because he’s having daytime flashbacks and night terrors. And right now, it’s going to be a toss up on if he can get the killer in time, before he ends up dead in the middle of a flashback or dead from something else.
I don’t want to give too much away, because when I made the comment at the beginning about Trent, it’s related to personal stuff. And if you want to know, you need to read book 1 and this one to find out what’s going on and why Mitch is the way he is. But even with the personal stuff he’s dealing with, he’s still one heck of an investigator. He has a natural talent for digging and knowing what to look for. Unfortunately, it often gets him in trouble, and not in a good way. But I love watching him work. He has a way about him. I love his smart mouth, because he doesn’t care about if he’s hurting someone’s feelings. He just wants at the truth. Not that he doesn’t care. Don’t get me wrong. He can be tactful when he wants to be, he just doesn’t put up with people’s crap. Although he’s trying to get better. Honestly, I get where it’s coming from, but I think it’s a part of his charm lol. It hurt me for him in this one, as well. Knowing he was sitting right outside where Austin snuck out, struck him on a level he can’t get over. And my heart hurts for him because of it. Technically, no, it’s not his fault. You can’t watch someone 24/7, especially when they figure out they’re being tailed. But it’s the point. He knew how sweet this kid was and how hard he was working to get to where he wanted to be on his own. Not riding anyone’s coattails. And that made Mitch admire him all the more. For me too.
This is such a good story, but there are a few times when I bawled like a baby. Being a mom, I guess I was trying to put myself in their shoes and it’s an awful feeling. But it’s a mystery, baby, and I loved every minute of it. Brad knows how to weave a great story. The characters are in depth and complex, to the point you don’t quite know what to think about each one. I’m ready for book 3, because I’m hoping to see a few things happen. Plus, I just love this series and am ready for the next story. If you guys haven’t read this series yet, you need to.
RATING: 
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