When it was available to me for streaming, I used to put Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on repeat and never get bored. I read and watch almost everything that is somehow Sherlock adjacent, from Enola Holmes to the Mary Russell books, and everything in between. I took a literature class in college called "Detective Fiction and Film" where I read classics about hard-boiled detectives and wrote my final paper on this new movie that was out at that time, Brick, Rian Johnson's directorial debut (I think that's showing my age, now that I look at the year that was released.)
Yes, I'm a fan of some of the major murder mystery shows that have been released in the last 5 years and I have a list of other mystery/thrillers books and movies and shows I still need to try from the last, well, let's say 30 years, just to be on the safe side. I even have those Murdle books, that are just a logic puzzles with murder mysteries attached to each puzzle. If it's somehow, some kind of mystery, I pay attention to it.
Which is why when I saw the title of this book, No Body No Crime by Tess Sharpe, I knew I had to read it.
This is my first Tess Sharpe book but it won't be my last. I already have copies of The Girls I've Been and The Girl in Question that I've moved up in my TBR towers to get to faster. No Body No Crime follows Mel Tillman, a PI, and Chloe Harper, her high school sweetheart she's been hired to track down after Chloe disappeared 6 years earlier. Mel and Chloe bonded after a night in high school that left a classmate dead and buried. Now that they're reunited, Mel learns that there was more to the story about their classmate and who he worked for, and how those people have kept Chloe on the run since they graduated high school. They have to work together to get the truth out and make it possible for Chloe to finally get to come back home for good.
This is a mystery/thriller with some grit and teeth that can stand perfectly well on its own compared to other thrillers out there. It follows two women who were forced in different ways to become tough and cunning in order to survive. The writing style is fairly to the point, nothing flowery. There are several character point-of-view chapters in addition to Chloe and Mel that help to round out the story. It's a strong voice that helps build each character, filling in parts of everyone through their interactions with other characters. Also because of this book, I'll be smiling at peacocks for the foreseeable future.
The timeline goes back and forth at the start to show what happened in the past when Mel and Chloe were teenagers and in present time, when Mel has finally tracked down where Chloe is currently living off the grid. There are lots of questions at the start that get answered with time and patience. There was one plot point I expected to happen and the build-up and reveal hit the right notes to make it a meaningful part of the book. I honestly waited for this moment, was really hoping it was going to happen, and even if it seemed like an obvious outcome, I still wanted that moment and was happy when it happened. It showed how much I cared for the characters that this moment hit the way it did. Signs of good writing, for sure.
The writing kept me engaged, the reveals worked at keeping me turning the pages to find out what happened next. I liked Mel's attitude and I liked Chloe's determination and I liked how the two of them together made them stronger against the villains of the piece. I look forward to reading more of Tess Sharpe's books as soon as possible.
Rating on my scale: 9 Stars. I really liked this book. If anything, it felt a bit short. I kind of wanted more time with the characters but I am happy with where they were left.
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