Pattern of Wounds

My daughter and I love to watch the Law and Order movies on t.v.!  We both love the suspense and trying to figure out "who did it" and learning a little bit about the detective/police process when a crime has been committed.  Cecily, currently in 8th grade, is even considering criminal justice as a possible career.  So, when Bethany House offered a murder mystery for review I jumped at the opportunity.  They sent me a copy of J. Mark Bertrand's Pattern of Wounds for the purpose of review.

Since Pattern of Wounds is the second book in Bertrand's new series (A Roland March Mystery), I went to Amazon and ordered the first book, Back on Murder, so I would be caught up when Pattern of Wounds arrived.  You can visit Bertrand's website by visiting jmarkbertrand.com.  There you can find links to Bertrand's crime novel blog as well as learn more about this new series of books.

From the back cover of Pattern of Wounds:

A brutal murder.  An unraveling conviction.  To catch the killer, Roland March must decipher the Pattern of Wounds.  It's Christmas in Houston, and homicide detective Roland March is on the hunt for a killer.  A young woman's brutal stabbing in an affluent neighborhood bears all the hallmarks of a serial murder.  The only problem is that March sent the murderer to prison ten years ago.  Is it a copycat - or did March convict the wrong man?  Alienated from his colleagues, and with a growing rift in his marriage, March receives a series of taunting messages from the killer.  The bodies pile up, the pressure builds, and the violence reaches too close to home.  Up against an unfathomable evil, March struggles against the clock to understand the hidden messages in the pattern of wounds.

Now my thoughts:
Bertrand is an absolute master storyteller!  After reading Back on Murder I was like a little kid checking the mail every day until Bethany House sent Pattern of Wounds!  Bertrand doesn't waste any time drawing you into March's life.  On page one Detective March is on the crime scene and the mystery begins.  I stayed up way to late a couple of nights finishing the book, because I. could. not. put. it. down!  You immediately begin "helping" March figure things out.  And you find yourself "pulling for him" as if he is an actual person you know in real life.  The detective is not only an outcast law man who thinks outside of the box, he is a man with a struggling marriage and a man trying to find and understand faith.
Although Pattern of Wounds is the second book in a series, it can be read alone.  Bertrand does a good job of filling in details from Back on Murder; however, you will want to read both books, because you will love the characters whose stories do continue from book to book.  I enjoyed these books so much that I will be stalking Bertrand's website so I'll know when book three is available!!  They are that good!

So, if you like murder mysteries/crime suspense fiction, you will want to read Bertrand's books!  Both Back on Murder and Pattern of Wounds can be purchased at Amazon.com by following the links below:




























Blessings,