Murder in Deacon's Corner by Linda Opdyke follows P.I. Mickey Jenks, who receives a call requesting a meeting near Bailey Park, leading her to a strangled woman, and puts Mickey smack in the middle of a homicide inquiry. The victim is identified as Carrie Brenner. Working alongside her husband, Ethan Jenks, a network of false identities, burner phones, staged encounters, and an earlier killing connected to a rural Tennessee club surface, is designed to draw Mickey in. Each step forward convinces a string of suspects that Mickey has decisive evidence, making her a moving target for intimidation and retrieval. The Jenks' work alongside law enforcement and their allies, trying to track who is orchestrating the lures and why, trying to stay ahead of what could risk becoming the next trap.

Well, that was fun! Murder in Deacon's Corner by Linda Opdyke is a fabulously intelligent suspense novel that immediately puts us directly inside a sustained investigation. I have never been to Nashville, but I felt it at night through locked doors, watchful staff, and the constant awareness of who might be listening. Rural Deacon’s Corner is also totally immersive but with a different vibe. I love Mickey, who is smart and comes across as capable and stubborn, and her decisions have a knack for repeatedly narrowing her margin of safety. Ethan mostly functions as a stabilizing force, intervening in scenes that would otherwise tip into chaos, but not stepping on the toes of a rare female protagonist. The writing is fully charged but accessible, and I wholeheartedly recommend the book to readers who enjoy solid crime fiction.

When Nashville Private Investigator Mickey Jenks receives a frantic call for help, asking her to come to a shady part of town, she initially thinks nothing of it until she arrives with her private investigator husband, Ethan, and discovers a body. Further investigations reveal an elaborately laid trap with Mickey as the apparent target. The Jenks immediately go on the offensive, trying to find out who has an ax to grind with them. The deeper they dig, the more they find their target has forcefully drawn them into a dark web of murder and coercion where anyone is collateral damage. Can they extricate themselves from this cesspool before it is too late? Only time will tell in Linda Opdyke's Murder in Deacon's Corner: Take It To The Limit, Book Six.

In Murder in Deacon's Corner, Linda Opdyke focuses on keeping the narrative as realistic as possible. She goes above and beyond to show how the police interrogation sessions evenly balance the focus between the evidence available to them and the character and prior history of the individuals in their custody. Ethan's investigation emphasizes how they connect the supposedly minor clues in building a case. These aspects of the narrative will appeal to realistic fiction purists. The dialogue mirrors the same level of detail, with a predominantly businesslike tone, complemented by emotionally charged face-offs between Ethan and Mickey when their professional and private lives clash. The author weaves these elements together with gritty combat scenes, a graduated pace, and a narrative style that encourages readers to think outside the box to uncover the intricately laid motives of Mickey's stalkers. Opdyke takes police procedural drama to impressive new heights in this riveting novel.

When Nashville Private Investigator Mickey Jenks receives a call from a potential client, Markie Brenner, requesting a consult, she accepts it. However, as her colleague Bowen Lynch, who overhears the phone call, and her husband Ethan Jenks, a PI, point out, the request could be a setup. Not only is the venue, Bailey Park, a notorious high-crime spot, but Markie Brenner appears to have used a burner phone for contact and is no longer reachable. Arriving at the park to investigate the developing mystery, the trio finds the body of a young woman, whose identity authorities confirm as Carrie Brenner, Markie’s sister-in-law. It does not help that Markie, who is believed to have witnessed Carrie’s murder, remains elusive. Chasing leads to pin Markie down, the Jenks and their associates find themselves drawn into a web of deceit, betrayal, dark secrets, and more murders, as they uncover a crime involving a dysfunctional family, two businessmen, and at its heart, a memory card. What do they discover? Find out in Murder in Deacon’s Corner by Lynda Opdyke.

If you are looking for a mystery, murder, and sleuth novel blended with action, suspense, and a splash of drama, Murder in Deacon’s Corner by Lynda Opdyke is a perfect pick. I always enjoy a mystery featuring the Jenks couple. In this installment, they face a new, more challenging predicament, with higher stakes and greater implications. Apart from learning to trust Michelle, Ethan must help her become independent and a better PI. Opdyke maintains the cast’s personalities, making it easy to trace their growth individually and professionally. The prose unfolds at a deliberate pace, balancing moments of reflection and tension with bursts of action. The cinematic depictions vividly captured the backdrop, making me feel as if I were in Nashville, closely following the investigation from the Jenks’ busy offices to the dilapidated, decaying buildings, and seedy entertainment establishments. This whodunnit will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Murder in Deacon's Corner is the sixth book in the Take it to the Limit series by Linda Opdyke. Private Detectives Ethan and Mickey Jenks rush to a crime scene where they discover a body, but they quickly find out that Mickey is supposed to be the second victim. Markie Brenner is the witness whose story is unclear. Then, a MicroSD card is anonymously sent to Mickey, which unravels more of the mystery and sends Mickey and her husband into the heart of Deacon’s Corner, where influential people run the gentlemen's club called “Charlie’s Garden.” The club is known to operate under strict secrecy, with power and violence enforcing its rules. The couple understands that someone wants the SD destroyed, but there is also someone who wants the SD with its contents, and both will kill to get what they want. As the investigation progresses, Ethan discovers that his wife is no longer just a PI but a target. Can he protect her and solve the crime before it is too late?

Murder in Deacon's Corner is a crime thriller that will appeal to fans of The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith, thanks to its tangled plotting and intelligent characterization. It is a story of malice and murder that features villains who have, until now, been unstoppable. The twists are many, and the suspense develops in depth around what might happen to Mickey. The first attempt on her life was unsuccessful; will the second attempt be the same? The dynamics between the two heroes fascinated me; they are a couple who complement each other naturally. Linda Opdyke captivated me with the storytelling and entertained me with the clever plotting and the suspense.