On a Quiet Street

A Dr. Pepper Hunt Mystery

Fiction - Mystery - Murder
288 Pages
Reviewed on 04/23/2019
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Patricia Reding for Readers' Favorite

Having read and enjoyed the first in The Dr. Pepper Hunt Mystery Series, I was happy to have the opportunity to read the next installment, On a Quiet Street by J. L. Doucette. Characters that quickly charmed me in the earlier tale were present once again. Most notable is psychologist Dr. Pepper Hunt and investigator Beau Antelope. I was pleased to find a growing friendship between the two as they set out to investigate the murder of Stacey Hart, the fiancée of Connor Collins, an attorney in the local DA’s office. The investigation into Stacey’s murder uncovers years of secrets that Connor and Stacey’s brother, Max, kept about events that transpired at the hands of a parish priest when the boys were young children. But some secrets have a way of sneaking up and surprising people in unusual ways and at unusual times, just as they do in this case.

It seems that the key to the success of J. L. Doucette’s tales is that Doucette carefully crafts the connection between personal relationships and mental health, and between mental health and potential negative behavior, including possible criminal behavior. Doucette also shows how differently people respond to tragedy, and how their life experiences play into their reactions. On a Quiet Street is set out against the molestation scandal that rocked the Catholic Church some years ago. Yet Doucette is not disrespectful of the institution at large, nor does she paint all affiliated with the church as equally responsible, as is witnessed with Doucette’s inclusion of Toni Atwell, a former nun who is the first to share details that help to solve the mystery at hand. Throughout the story, Doucette carefully weaves in the history of the characters and the kinds of secrets people try to keep so as to protect themselves—and sometimes others—and the reality of how those secrets often come with unexpected costs.