Catherine O'Brien and Louise Montgomery are homicide detectives based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The two look and act as different as night and day - Catherine is vertically challenged, light skinned, heavily caffeinated, and married, while Louise is a statuesque six-foot tall single woman with dark mahogany skin, with below-the-waist length braids, and is a terror behind the wheel of a car.

Unfortunately, the married Catherine must also deal with an increasingly troubled marriage because her husband Gavin is fed-up with her long hours on the job.

Together, the two women are a dynamic duo who has learned to work well together when it comes to solving cases.

When Nathan Stanley, a high profile friend of their police chief, is murdered on the steps of his own home, the edgy, snarky duo must find the murderer within two days or deal with the wrath of their overbearing boss.

As they tackle the case, what they find are an eclectic list of possible suspects in Nathan Stanley’s murder – his ex-wife, his mistress, his business partner, and even the chief of police - all of whom have motive and opportunity.

When their lead suspect is also found murdered, the two detectives must begin to dig deeper into who would profit from the deaths of the business co-owners. There are a number of clues, but ultimately the detectives focus on a missing letter opener, an ugly pair of Alpaca mittens such as a number of the female suspects have in their possession, or have lost, and a missing cell phone.

A Grand Murder is the first novel written by Stacy Verdick Case, and she is off to a good start. The fast pace makes this book an easy read and the quirky characters make it fun.

As readers settle into the series, I think they will enjoy the new crime-solving duo. It's nice to have two females working together, especially since they are so different from one another but still they make their relationship work.

New fans will appreciate that a second book in the Catherine O’Brien mystery series, Murder is a Family Affair, is nearing release and the author is hard at work on a third. This clever new series is only going to get better!

A special thank you goes to Stacy Verdick Case for providing a complimentary copy of A Grand Murder for our review. If you would like your own copy, it is available on Amazon.com.