I enjoyed reading Carol Potenza’s newest mystery, Sting of Lies, the first in the Lies series. Potenza writes strong female protagonists who don’t need to be rescued—my kind of women. Myrna (pronounced as in meerkat) P. Lee is smart, hard-headed, and has plenty of angst in her backstory. She has all but wrecked her career as an Ice Age paleontologist with a special expertise in poisons and needs to redeem herself ASAP. Throw in a hunky cowboy and an adorable dog named William Tell into the story, and you have a great, fun read.
Potenza does a great job building suspense on multiple levels: there’s a murder mystery from the past, a treasure that’s been searched for over decades, a dog with a secret talent, a backpack filled with treasures of its own, and a bizarre back story for Myrna, all flawlessly bound together to keep the reader reading. I also liked the retro look of the cover as it reminded me of the old Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon mysteries. This is a read-it-in-one-sitting book.
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Sting of Lies (Tiny Mammoth Press, October 17, 2023) is available through Amazon.
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You can read my reviews of Potenza’s other works here:
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