Blood Guilt by Lindy Cameron

Book One in the Kit O’Malley series

Ex cop, now Private Investigator, Kit O’Malley’s latest job is not very exciting. She’s been hired by a wealthy client and old friend of her mother, Celia Robinson, to follow her cheating husband Geoffrey. The assignment is run of the mill, Kit documents Geoffrey meeting with a blonde, a redhead and businessman, Ian Dalkeith. All quite mundane until a body is found in the Robinson’s fish pond.

The cops are on the case, but this doesn’t satisfy Celia’s daughter, Quinn. She hires Kit to find her mother’s killer and Byron, the missing butler. Quinn is not happy to let Kit get on with the investigation, she insists on being involved at every step of the way. When Quinn brings along her lawyer, the stunning, beautiful, Alexis Cazenove, Kit’s senses leave her. She is instantly smitten and a gibberish wreck.

When Kit is almost killed by a hit and run, she knows she must be on the right track to solving the mystery. She just has to fathom out the truth and expose all the deep dark secrets that have been hidden.

Just who is Mike Finnigan and who is he following? Geoffrey, Dalkeith or Kit?

Blood Guilt is a well written page turner. Although it started out a bit on the slow side, it soon picked up speed and clipped along at a steady pace.

I loved Kit O’Malley. Her character is so down to earth and she has a terrific sense of humor and she is a bit of a klutz. There is a very strong cast of secondary characters, the main one being Alex, who Kit is rapidly falling in love with. This is despite the fact that Alex is getting married to Enzo. Will Kit’s love be unrequited or will Alex forsake Enzo and reciprocate? There are lots of other interesting and amusing characters too to enhance the story and progress it along.

The main focus is on the actual mystery, with the romance being secondary. What started off for Kit as a simple case of a cheating husband, escalates into a murder case. Although Kit is a Private Investigator, she still has contacts in the police department and she ends up working together with her ex cop partner, Jon Marek.

There are lots of twists and turns in this exciting mystery/intrigue which kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages quickly. Then suddenly it was at an end. Just when I wanted to know more about Kit and Alex, more of what happens next in their lives. It’s a good job I have the second in this remarkably different to the norm, mystery series to read.