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Reviewed by Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite
In Beautiful Death, a crime thriller by John Deal, an incident at Duncan House where a regular guest passed away from a supposed heart attack brought Detective CJ O'Hara to the scene. Charles Ralston, a well-known developer from Charleston who frequently attended social gatherings for the upper class, was the victim. Because the corpse had scrapes on his back and a pillow had a faint scent of minty vanilla perfume, CJ suspected foul play. This suggested that the killer might have been a woman. A rare plant poison was the cause of death, and CJ found two cold cases with the same cause of death. During her investigation, CJ discovered the Palmetto Men’s Society that used to build up Charleston, but the new generation of men abused women, and CJ needed to stop the abuse.
Beautiful Death by John Deal had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page. It was a roller coaster ride of suspense, abuse of women, romance, and secrets. The novel offers an intriguing perspective on both the physical and psychological abuse of generations of women and human trafficking. It was fast-paced, and the descriptions of the events were vivid. With all the twists and turns, I never knew what would happen next, and it was always a big surprise. The characters were realistic and relatable. CJ was a fearless woman and did everything she could to solve this case. A subplot was incorporated into the story but did not detract from the main plot. I did not see the major twist coming at the end, which was unexpected.
