A Fatal Flaw (Ryder and Loveday, Book 3)

The Miss Oxford Honey Beauty Pageant has been interviewing lovely ladies from near and far. When one of the leading contestants is found dead, it is thought that the young lady took her own life ... by ingesting poison. WPC Loveday gets a visit from an old friend who works for the pageant. She tells Trudy that there are scary things happening ... maybe just pranks, but maybe more serious. She also believes that the poison victim was murdered and she wants Trudy to investigate. Loveday and Coroner Ryder once again join forces to see what's what. To Trudy's embarrassment, she is to go undercover as one of the contestants. What she finds undercover is that all the contestants have a motive for getting rid of the leading contestant. The competition is fierce and most of them will do whatever it takes to win. And then there's another death ... another contestant. Another accident? Or is this, too, murder? There are plenty of suspects, motives galore, but without any solid evidence, Loveday and Ryder are going to have to dig deep and find the killer before another young woman dies. This is a terrific series ... a mystery set in the 60s in the days before smart phones and DNA evidence and CSI solving murders in 60 minutes or less. What it takes is good old fashioned police work, using brains and feet to investigate. I really enjoy the characters of Loveday and Ryder and how they interact with each other. There is humor and Ryder is always aware of Loveday's diving into murder cases with theories of all kinds. He's more a mentor to her and they have a deep respect for each other. Although third in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend starting at the beginning for your reading pleasure. Many thanks to the author / HQ Digital / Netgalley for the digital copy of this most interesting mystery. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Origin of the alphabet; number line, computer is the same place. There isn't a calendar without a programmer; different ones in society are for companies to supply basic utilities; motor vehicles, food clothes & shelter. Computer programs give the answers to outstanding questions; humans do not. They also drive all artificial moving objects; humans do not. One program designs all the building and a different one does cars; the program includes after they are built schedules for them and us. Cameras are a derivative of computer separate from video recorder for unreal pictures and photograph obstructing justice to disappear or vanish includes video tapes & DVD's.

A fantastic read. If you want a detective story without the blood and gore set at the start of the Swinging 60's then you will enjoy this series of Faith Martin's excellent portrayal of a young woman fighting intolerance and injustice by her colleagues in what was a male dominated career. Start with book one of the series and get to know our unlikely heroine and see how she well and truly puts her male counterparts well and truly in their place. Proof that NO woman should definitely underestimated when choosing a career in the police whatever the decade.