Lethal Legacy

An Australian mystery suspense thriller with intrigue and a mature woman amateur sleuth

Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
390 Pages
Reviewed on 04/24/2023
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Author Biography

Hi, I’m H.R. Kemp and I live in South Australia and write mystery suspense thrillers which have mature women amateur sleuths, political intrigue and an explosive finish. I have 2 published novels:
• Lethal Legacy
• Deadly Secrets.
My short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies;
• the UK anthology ‘When Stars Will Shine,’
• the Australian anthology ‘Fledglings’,
• the Canadian Scarlet Leaf Review Magazine, and
• Several in the UK Writers’ and Readers’ Magazine
Real-life sparks my imagination and after a twenty-nine-year public service career spanning roles as diverse as Management Trainer, Team Facilitator, Statistician, and Laboratory Assistant (which was a fertile environment for stimulating political thriller plot ideas) I began writing.
I love to draw on my other passions, such as traveling and discovering new places, for my writing. I’ve visited many countries and cities around the world that inspire scenes for my novels e.g. Lethal Legacy is set mainly in Adelaide and Sydney but also travels to the Netherlands and Italy and Deadly Secrets begins in Paris and has scenes set in Normandy, Nice, and Barcelona before returning to Australia.
I hope you enjoy the stories, the characters, and the complex plots.

    Book Review

Reviewed by David Cameron for Readers' Favorite

Legal Legacy is set in Australia, mainly in Adelaide. Laura is approaching sixty, and after thirty-seven years, her marriage to her husband, Tom, has hit a rocky patch. Forced into early retirement, Tom suddenly dies on a night out at a music festival with his university friend Peter and his second wife, Abbie. Tom’s death leads to many unanswered questions for Laura. How had he been taking drugs without her knowledge? Had he been having an affair? What project had consumed him in the latter part of his life? These questions lead Laura, her best friend, and Peter’s first wife, Eva, on a pathway into Australia's political and criminal underbelly and international intrigue. Who can Laura trust? Are her children and friends in danger? H.R. Kemp takes us on a complex and intriguing journey.

Lethal Legacy is set against fairly recent Australian events, and H.R. Kemp painstakingly builds the background of a wide number of characters. The premise is engaging, and the tension slowly builds as information is fed to us. Locations are described in great detail, and it is easy to visualize the settings and the people. It is a complex story, requiring effort from the reader, but this is well-rewarded as the twists and turns untangle toward its conclusion. Laura is a worthy heroine who will stop at nothing to protect her family, and the mature-aged protagonist is a welcome addition to the genre. Kemp demonstrates that pleasure, romance, excitement, and living are not just the domain of the young. The pace in the story's final third picks up and races to a satisfying and surprising conclusion. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a thriller with depth.