Acting DI Tess Fox is keen to impress her boss on her first murder investigation as investigating officer. Initially thought to be a suicide, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more to the case as the man has his hands tied behind his back and his throat has been cut. To make things even more complicated the door to the flat he fell from was locked and boarded from the inside, with no other means of entry or exit. To help her figure out how the murder was committed Tess needs to enlist the help of her con-artist half-sister who she hasn't seen for years.
Three Card Murder by J. L. Blackhurst is a locked-room murder mystery that will have thriller lovers puzzling throughout as to exactly how the crimes were carried out. Not only is there the initial baffling murder but another two equally bewildering murders take place. Each crime, and the explanations, reminded me of the Jonathan Creek TV series.
Lead character, Tess Fox, comes across as very real. She's keen to make progress in her job but isn't over-confident, we see her vulnerable side. We also learn early on that her background could cause quite a few problems for her as a police officer. Her father is a notorious criminal, even worse, fifteen years earlier Tess killed a man in order to save her half-sister, Sarah.
Sarah is the stand-out character in the story. She's highly intelligent but uses her intelligence for nefarious means. She works for her father, specialising in long cons, but is happy keeping her skills honed with less intense con tricks such as fortune telling, card tricks, etc. The relationship between the two sisters is prickly, Tess feels that Sarah could do better for herself. Sarah feels that Tess has deserted the family, made even worse by her joining the police force.
Throughout you feel the turmoil Sarah feels. She wants to be loyal to her father, but she remembers that Tess saved her life fifteen years ago. Both sisters are uneasy that the murder victims and small clues left at each scene indicate that someone knows exactly what happened in the past. Only by joining forces and bending (or even breaking) a few rules will they track down the murderer.
The audiobook is narrated well and kept me hooked, however, this may work better in print, allowing the reader to flip back to check details. The revelations were ingenious and I enjoyed the way in which the conclusion was left open-ended.
Three Card Murder by J. L. Blackhurst will be published on 31st August 2023 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.
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