Review & Giveaway: Murder in the Secret Maze by Judith Gonda

Series: Tory Benning Mystery #1
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 26th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon*  | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo | Smashwords*
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Blurb from goodreads:

First in a new series featuring California landscape architect Tory Benning!

Landscape architect Tory Benning knows the lay of the land, but she’ll have to dig through the clues to unearth a killer . . .

After a whirlwind romance and a glorious wedding at the luxurious Hotel Santa Sofia, Tory Benning is ready to let down her hair, slip into her dancing shoes, and celebrate—until she discovers that her newly minted husband has vanished. The police suspect cold feet and second thoughts are behind Milo’s disappearance, but Tory’s certain he’s met with foul play. And since she designed the plush resort, she knows every nook and cranny of the grounds and adjoining secret maze, and wastes no time delving into her search.

As clues begin to emerge that Milo may have taken his last breath in the maze, Tory steps up her sleuthing, even as she learns she’s the prime suspect of a cop with a chip on his shoulder and is squarely in the sights of a menacing stalker. And when a second body is found on the grounds, Tory fears she’s up against a killer determined to silence any and all who get in the way.

Not to be deterred, Tory forges ahead, navigating a case with more twists and turns than the maze itself, until the labyrinth of clues leads her to shocking revelations about her husband, her family, and the identity of a killer who’s dead set on making her the next victim.

My Thoughts:

"Murder in the Secret Maze" starts out most unusually - in the middle of a wedding day, where we meet the bride but not the groom. Then, right after the ceremony, the groom disappears. It felt like a part of the book was missing as we are dropped into these dramatic events. It was hard to care about the missing Milo since we never get to know him. It didn't help that his bride, Tory, bounced back very quickly and was even flirting after about a month. She just never seemed upset about his disappearance or her father's recent death. I warmed up to Tory after a bit though,and appreciated her perseverance in determining what happened to her missing husband. Is he dead? Did he abandon her? Tory, aided by her best friend Ashley and a friendly cop Adrian, and a mysterious PI, Jake, sets about finding the truth. The murder is not solved in a matter of days; approximately a month passes. This seemed realistic to me but didn't slow down the story. Gonda kept the story moving at a good clip.

Despite the story's pacing, it was slow to draw me in, given the odd and abrupt beginning but slowly I was lured in. There were twists, turns, and red herrings aplenty that kept me guessing, along with enough connections and interconnections to fill a soap opera. Along the way, there's a lot of family drama. I felt for Tory by the end, with all that she goes through during the story. She needs some fleshing out but she, and her friend Ashley, have potential as amateur sleuths. "Murder in the Secret Maze" was ultimately entertaining and a good start to a new series.

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About Judith Gonda ~

Judith Gonda is a mystery writer and Ph.D. psychologist with a penchant for Pomeranians and puns, so it’s not surprising that psychology, Poms, and puns pop up in her amateur sleuth mysteries featuring California landscape architect Tory Benning.

Find Judith Online ~

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