Title: Evil Alice and the Borzoi
Author: DK Coutant
Genre: Mystery
Book Blurb:
Paradise is shaken when the body of a young woman is dragged onto a university research vessel during a class outing in Hilo Bay. Cleo Cooper is shaken when she finds her favorite student is on the hook for the murder. Danger lurks on land and sea as Cleo and her friends are enticed to search for the true killer. In between paddling, swimming, and arguing with her boyfriend, Cleo discovers all is not what it seems on the Big Island of Hawaii. But will she figure out the truth before she becomes the next victim?
My Review:
Get read for sun, surf, and murder in Evil Alice and the Borzoi. With a gorgeous setting like Hawaii, who would even think about killing someone? A tropical setting, deep descriptive narration, a heroine you can’t help but adore, and a mystery to solve…it’s a dream vacation for mystery readers.
Let’s kick things off with the descriptive narration. This author knows the ins and outs of living in Hawaii. Every aspect is poignantly described. It adds such depth to the plot. It also pulls the reader in so they feel like they’ve gone to Hawaii. Really impressive.
The characters are diverse and very expressive. The cast of characters is large, and the suspect list is even larger. It took me quite a bit of concentration to keep everyone straight. Cleo, however, is a delight. I connected with her on so many levels. Watching her detect while trying to stay ahead of the killer made for an enjoyable read.
The plot moves at a good pace. The writing is immersive. DK Coutant’s strength comes from her ability to entice the reader through narration and world-building.
If you love a good mystery set in a tropical locale, you’ve got to read this book. I recommend this to mystery readers and those readers looking for an escape.
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy it Now:
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/evil-alice-and-the-borzoi-dk-coutant/1142929587?ean=9781509245918
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/evil-alice-and-the-borzoi-dk-coutant/19649122?ean=9781509245918
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/evil-alice-and-the-borzoi-a-cleo-cooper-mystery-book-1-by-dk-coutant
Author Biography:
DK Coutant graduated from Davidson College with a Psychology degree, and applied her behavioral training at Sea World, training dolphins and whales. Realizing that scrubbing fish buckets might get old, she went back to school and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology. Her academic career began at the University of Southern Maine before DK made the jump to the University of Hawaii at Hilo rising to Department Chair of the Psychology Department. After many happy years in Hawaii, DK made the move out of academics to become a professional geopolitical forecaster for GJP, Inc ( https://goodjudgment.com/Inc) and INFER ( https://www.infer-pub.com/ ). Evil Alice and the Borzoi is her first work of fiction published by The Wild Rose Press.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @dkcoutant
Instagram: @DKCandDog
TikTok: @DKCoutant
Mastodon: https://lor.sh/@dkcoutant
Reviewed by: Nancy