Bird Of Prey - Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Ops I did it again! I got a Five stars review for Bird Of Prey and this time 60 days after submission...

Sémya Slotin Mystery Series - Book 1

Mystery Romance 

Published date: October 7th 2014

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Bird Of Prey by Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba is an intriguing tale of suspense. Semya Slotin had taken a three-year break from solving mysteries and cases. She gets back from London after her money is exhausted by the lifestyle she led. She takes up her mother's case, whose designs were being stolen and copied by another designer house, which also happened to be owned by Semya's ex-boyfriend. The case seemed easy ... until Semya discovers the corpse of supermodel Johanna Cartier.

The book has all the ingredients of a thrilling story. It has romance, mystery, intrigue, and suspense all woven together to form a fast-paced story. The plot and the sub-plots are all written well and connected nicely with the investigation details and the clues of the murder. It is action packed and keeps you guessing. The romantic angle here is Julian, who was Semya's ex-boyfriend, and the boyfriend of the murdered supermodel Johanna Cartier.

The characterization of the protagonist, Semya Slotin, is excellent. Her attitude and her behavior make her interesting. The book has some unexplained parts which evoked my curiosity even after I finished reading the story. Semya's life in London could have been described more and her relationship with Josh Heinz could have been written with more clarity. The character of Josh Heinz is not all that detailed and that calls for a sequel to the story. It is a book I would recommend.

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~~~

Sémya felt like staying under her tiny shower for another hour or so. She felt like washing her hair and scrubbing her skin until the smell of death went away. It was Honolulu all over again…but this time one of her close friends was mixed in that mess.

She told the Detective Chief Inspector lady everything she knew. She seemed like a competent woman. Ally Gibbons would find Emma and Peter. But about Julian…Julian wasn’t a killer. Maybe he just lost his temper. He used to lose his temper quite a lot back in the days. But he would never raise his hand on a woman. Never…no matter how evil she might be.

She was in her short robe brushing her hair in the living room when Polliannah stormed in. “Bozhe moy⁷!” she bellowed. Her dark red hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush or a comb for days. “Are you alright?” she hugged her and gave her a quick kiss.

“You know, the usual. Seeing and touching a dead body and all,” Sémya said forcing herself to laugh. “Where have you been? I tried to call you.” [7  Oh my God!]

She blushed back, “John took me to Brighton.” She felt like slapping her. Not because she went away with a man she just met without telling her best friend.  Not because, they had a store to run and they couldn’t afford to take a day off and pay their staff more than they already did.  Sémya wanted to slap her because she just touched a dead body this morning. So she did.

“Sorry. But I needed to do this,” Sémya said before sitting down. “You do dumb shit sometimes, Polli.”

“Fuck you! Khuy tebe! Not all of us have the sexy man living next door and eating out of the palm of our hand,” she said caressing her cheek.

“Don’t bring Josh into this. This is serious.  They think Julian did it and they are searching for him,” Sémya told her. “He doesn’t have his mobile and may not even know what’s going on.”

Polliannah turned on the television and there it was, Johanna’s body getting carried out of her brand new house. “Well he knows now.” They both shivered. They confirmed she was found dead and they suspected foul play but nothing more. It would take a few days for more information to come out.

Josh opened the door and slammed it back. This wasn’t why they gave him a spare key. Why was he up so early anyway? “What the fuck Sémya! A simple confrontation?” He marched toward her. “Did you find the body?”

Sémya nodded back. “I’m okay. I slapped Polli and it made me feel so much better,” she said but she couldn’t fake it with him. They both remembered Honolulu. She kept it together all morning and she still needed to call her mother. “Heinz…”

“Come here,” he told her opening his arms to her. She fell in his strong arms. “I’m not leaving your side until this mess is sorted out.”

“You don’t think it’s over?” she said her head still buried in his large chest.  He was slowly rocking her. “Julian didn’t kill her.” She inhaled his strong masculine scent. She liked the smell of his aftershave and the way it mixed with his own scent. 

“It’s far from over, especially if he didn’t do it…then maybe that Peter bloke or even Emma could be the murderer,” Josh said.

She could hear Polliannah sighing heavily behind them. “Easy money…Remember two weeks ago when we were piling on vodka shots in Mayfair?”

~~~