Helpless

by Annette Dashofy

Are you up for a solid mystery with lots of action? It’s not quite a police procedural, but close. Zoe, a former paramedic and current county coroner, is married to Pete Adams, police chief in Vance Township. As you read, you will meet a lot of characters and have no trouble keeping track of them. Most of them are people who will put their own lives on the line to insure the safety of others. Some do it as part of their official duties, others because they are good people and good neighbors.

The plot centers around a wife murdered, a husband left for dead under gruesome circumstances, and a child kidnaped. The setting which plays heavily into the plot is Hurricane Iona. Sleuthing and life saving work by the EMS is drastically hampered by pelting rains, destructive winds, flooding and road blockages. Car accidents impede roadways and increase the load on emergency personnel; electrical and cell phone outages cause panics. 

As bodies accumulate in the morgue, Zoe is caught between her official duties as coroner and her inner need to support the husband as a former EMS worker and as a friend. She is also called to the death scenes to process the bodies and desperately wants to help her husband find the missing child. 

This is a well written book and series. The plot is devised in such a way that the reader wants to keep the story going to hopefully arrive at a happily ever after for the characters. This is not a Hallmark book, however, so don’t expect that level of predictability. I was a little teary eyed at the end, but I admired the author’s fine touch with the conclusion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery, General Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Notes: 1. #12 in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series but can be read as a standalone

    2. Contains some swearing, but is otherwise clean.

Publication:  May 9, 2023—Level Best Books

Memorable Lines:

“What if he asks?”  “He won’t.  I think he suspects the worse. But as long as no one confirms it, he can go on hoping. My medical training and decades of practice tell me it comes down to that. Hope.

Zoe couldn’t bear merely sitting in her car, staring out the rain-blurred windows. The scene outside looked like an impressionistic painting. The thoughts inside her brain were equally smeared and unclear.