The Deep End
by Julie Mulhern
You will be hooked on this whodunit from the start. This debut novel will keep you wanting more.
~Shelley’s Book Case
Full of colorful characters, good dialogue, and taking place in the 70’s at the height of the Watergate scandal, The Dead End kept my attention from start to finish. The first book in “The Country Club Murders” series, is off to a good start.
~Queen of All She Reads
This book is pretty funny. The characters are well written. With the main character Ellison Russell your like I totally understand why she did that, and others your like, I just want to smack you. I can’t believe you did that.
~Tea and A Book
The Deep End
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Missouri
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Henery Press (February 17, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-1941962237
E-Book File Size: 507 KB
ASIN: B00PWE819Q
Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.
It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.
As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?
Set in the 1970’s this book treads close to the cozy/non-cozy mystery line due to some very interesting interests of some of the characters. Since it tells you in the synopsis I am not giving anything away by telling you sex of the kinky variety takes place and could be the reason a certain woman ends up dead floating in a country club swimming pool. It was the swinging 70’s!
Ellison Russell is unhappily married but sticking it out for her child and for appearances. How things appear to the world or other members of the country club are very important to Ellison’s mother and she is sure to tell her daughter that several times a say. As the story goes on Ellison becomes much stronger and really could care less what other people think shocking her mother and giving readers a good giggle or two.
I enjoyed the references to Watergate, and old television shows like Kojak and The Streets of San Francisco. A time before cell phones and when you wanted privacy on the phone the squiggly phone cord was stretched to reach into a closet or another room. A time when news was found in a newspaper not on a computer.
Julie Mulhern does a great job pulling us back in time and into Ellison’s world. She fills the story with very colorful characters and a plot that keeps us guessing the entire journey. She also makes us laugh and that is always a plus.
The Deep End is an excellent start for The County Club Murder series. Ellison really evolved in this story and I look forward to where the author takes her next.
About This Author
Julie Mulhern is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean—and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is—she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions. She is a 2014 Golden Heart® Finalist. The Deep End is her first mystery and is the winner of The Sheila Award.
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliekmulhern
Twitter: @juliekmulhern
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/juliemulhern/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8573907.Julie_Mulhern
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Tour Participants
February 16 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post
February 17 – Queen of All She Reads – Review
February 18 – Babs Book Bistro – Guest Post
February 19 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
February 20 – Tea and A Book – Review
February 21 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
February 22 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
February 23 – dru’s book musings – Guest Post
February 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review
February 25 – OMNIMYSTERY NEWS – Interview
February 26 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review
February 27 – Lori’s Reading Corner – Guest Post
The Deep End sounds like a great book. I can’t imagine finding a dead body… much less the body of the mistress! Eeeekkk!
Thanks, Jen! Finding the mistress seemed like a good way to start!
Congratulations on the new release! The Deep End sounds fascinating. The 70’s was definitely an interesting time period.
Thanks so much, BookLady! I had a great time reminiscing about (and researching) the time period. So many things I’d forgotten – Pet Rocks, Spiro Agnew, creme rinse instead of conditioner…
I still have a phone with a long stretchy cord but I no longer hide in closets. I like the idea of references in the 70s. Sounds like a good story.
lkish77123 – I think the phone cord in my parents house was stretched so far it no longer coiled (two teenage girls). Thanks for taking time to comment!
This sounds like a terrific book~definitely on my “must read” list! I really like the cover and the title! Thank you for a great contest!
Betty – good luck with the contest and thank you for putting The Deep End on your must-read list! I appreciate it so much!
Sounds kinda morbid and juicy … can’t wait to read!
Kicha – Hope you enjoy it!
I love the reviews on Dollycas because she turns me on to so many authors to read. This looks so good!!!!!
Thanks, Sandy! I hope you enjoy it!
Can’t wait to read this.
Thanks, Sally Cootie! I hope The Deep End makes you laugh out loud!
Reliving the ’70s. A scary idea.
Wish rafflecopter wasn’t so tilted towards twitter. I don’t tweet.
Libby, it might be a scary idea but I promise you, it’s a funny book! Thanks for commenting!
I almost spit my tea all over my computer when I started reading the blurb. It’s just too funny! LOL This is something that would happen to me.
Laura – I hope all of The Deep End makes you spit tea! One reader spit oatmeal…Thanks so much for taking time to comment!
Hmm, the Swinging 70’s! What a time to set a book–definitely a lot of fascinating clothing styles and new opportunities for women.
This sounds like another great series, and I love that it is happening in the 70s, when I was supposedly in my prime. Can’t wait to read it and decide if I think it qualifies as a cozy.