Blood Red

 

Blood Red by Anita Waller- Crime

I’ve been meaning to read this series for ages having read, I think, all the rest of Anita’s books and thoroughly enjoyed them. This one is superb. The first of a series (The Connection Trilogy-Blood Red, Code Blue, Mortal Green) where the Connection Investigation Agency (yes -the CIA!) has undergone a change (from the Kat & Mouse series). Luke who was the receptionist is now an investigator having gone through exams and found his feet and talents, Tessa is a retired DI, and Fred is also ex police backed up by Beth who does recruitment but steers the agency from behind the scenes. As the offices are refurbished, the old outhouse would make a good storage area. When the door is forced, never having been opened for donkey's years, a body is found and a missing person case becomes a murder.

Oh boy! I loved and loved and loved this. There are several cases the agency takes on, the murder being the main one. There’s a wonderful warmth of characters and a cleverly thought out thread of cases to keep the reader ever interested. Ones where I thought “I’ll finish reading today when this small case is solved”, and then became committed in another and another.  It's a sort of a cozy crime based around the agency characters, their cases and their own lives and one I really can't recommend highly enough. I'm off to read the next one, but know I don’t want these to end. Says it all really. Loved it- did you guess? ;) 

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