Investigative reporter Jessica Curtis convinced her boss that she should be allowed to look into the murder of her friend and mentor, Joe Taylor. He was on assignment following up on a three-year-old unsolved murder case when he disappeared.

Her boss, Bill Kenner, insists she work with homicide detective Paul Liguori of the Albuquerque Police Department as she searches for clues as to what could have happened to Joe.

Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jessica immediately heads up to Santa Fe as she tries to follow Joe’s trail in an attempt to find out why he didn’t return to the newspaper. And, where he could be; hoping he was still alive.

Traveling back and forth between the two cities, Jessica meets various men and women who are active in the high profile Santa Fe art world, several with unexpected ties to the political climate of the city. She discovers there is a dangerous underbelly of greed and power not seen by those outside the inner circle.

Jessica struggles with her emotions when she finds herself in an unexpected relationship, and as she continues to battle her boss and Detective Liguori while she also searches for the killer of her friend. In a climatic finish, she ultimately finds out the bitter truth.

Murder Once Removed is the first novel written by Roz Russell, herself a resident of Albuquerque. The author provides plenty of clues as well as a plethora of characters that carries the reader along a story line that keeps pages turning.

Unfortunately, Jessica doesn’t come across as a very nice person much of the time. It’s difficult to be on her side as she continues forward with the investigation. Snarky and rude with police detectives, her boss, and others shows her as a spoiled, rude individual difficult to befriend.

In spite of my dislike of the heroine, there were other characters that I did enjoy and was pleased to find myself beginning to enjoy the story for itself. The ending truly took me by surprise; the killer wasn’t who I expected.

It was nice to read a novel set in an area I have visited as I could visualize the setting and was drawn into what felt like a realistic story due to the landscape.

The author could easily have a series of stories anchored by the investigative reporters working for the Albuquerque Post, including the main characters already established.

A special thank you goes to the author for providing us with a complimentary copy for our review. If you are interest, you can find Murder Once Removed on Amazon.com.