Review of Death by Didgeridoo by Barbara Venkataraman

 

Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It’s up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it’s too late. It doesn’t help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn’t commit.

A preview of Jamie Quinn’s next adventure, “The Case of the Killer Divorce,” can be found at the end of the book.

 

Death by Didgeridoo is available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

 

Jamie Quinn is one of the sweetest, cutest lead characters I’ve come across in a while. She’s smart, compassionate and determined. The story opens with her talking about dealing with the emotional baggage of her mother’s death. Yet that doesn’t stop her from flying to the aid of her aunt and cousin when the latter is accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

At only about 100 pages, this is more novella than full book yet I was still able to get a good sense of the main character and able to see the potential for future stories.

The mystery itself isn’t overly complex… there’s only so much you can put into 100 pages after all… but it did capture my attention. There are several suspects and viable motives are established for each one. We get to ‘meet’ only a couple of them within the story and are told about others. That writing technique actually worked well in this case. I never felt that I missed out on something ‘off-page’.

The pacing of the novella therefore is maintained at a good clip. Fast enough to keep the reader’s interest but never confusing.

I also enjoyed the South Florida setting. It was shown in a more day to day context rather than the stereotypical beach and bar scene. But don’t worry, we still do visit a bar, thanks to the oddly likable PI Duke Broussard.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to reading the other two in this collection… and other works by Barbara!

I give Death by Didgeridoo 4/5 musical shots.

Disclaimer: I read and reviewed this book at the request of the author.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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