The Girl on the Edge of Summer by J.M. Redmann

The Girl on the Edge of Summer
by J.M. Redmann
Pages: 288
Publication Date: April 1 2017 (Bold Strokes Books website); April 18 2017
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series: Micky Knight (Ninth in Series)

Review
Rating: 4.45
Read: March 16-17 2017

*I received this book from NetGalley, and Bold Strokes Books in return for a fair review.*

First: Nature of Book, i.e., can it be read as a stand-alone?
As a series book, ninth book at that, a question of 'can I read this book without having read the prior books?' is something like the standard first question. There are series wherein characters and story grow from book to book, and therefore reading order is quite important; and others where a certain growth occurs, but the main difference, book to book, is the mystery contained in the book - and therefore reading order isn't strictly important.

So, what's up with this book, eh?

In theory you could read this book as a stand-alone. There are blanks that someone who read the series would be able to fill quickly, while those who enter this book ‘fresh’ would have a harder time filling. Though clues to help fill those blanks are there. Blanks include such things like: who is this Alex person who called? Why does Micky seem to know this Joanne cop person? Why does she keep trying to call this ‘Danny’ person? Just who is this ‘Cordelia’ woman that gets mentioned in passing? To those fresh to the series, there are clues, as mentioned.

For the most part, someone could, as I said, in theory read this book as a stand-alone. I believe it is better advised to read this book 9th after the previous 8 books. Micky and friends do change over time. They are not locked into a holding pattern – they are not the same age from book 1 to book 9, and their relationships are not the same either (to a certain extent).

So – can this be read by itself? Yes. Is it recommended? No. But readers’ preferences differ.

Second: Publish Date
The book will be available to be purchased directly from the publishers website starting April 1 2017, and 'everywhere' April 18 2017.

Mystery
The story has three main mysteries, though the third could probably better be mentioned in the section below titled ‘Romance’.

First Mystery: Shortly after Mardi Gras is over, two people, separately, meet up with Micky Knight in her office. One is woman who desires to hire Micky to look for the guy who drove her daughter to suicide. For various reasons, Micky is reluctant to take the case but believes she might be best able to handle it rather than some other scum ball detective who might not care much and would just milk the mother for money.

Second Mystery: And shortly after that a man dressed expensively turns up. He has another death he wants investigated, by Micky. That of his great-grandfather – who was murdered in . . . I think it was 1906.

Third Mystery: Micky is confused by the antics of her friends and relatives. All appear busy at the same time on the same weekend, but refuse to elaborate on what’s going on.

Romance

Torbin, Micky’s drag-queen cousin, suggests that Micky try internet dating. Micky does. During the course of the book she goes on, if I recall correctly, three dates. Micky is not impressed with the internet dating world (or, at least, not after the first date.

Overall

I mentioned in the first status update I did for the book on GoodReads that this book opened sad. Well, it did. And continued that way. It is kind of expected with the book opens with Micky investigating a suicide, and a murder (albeit a long ago murder). Mix in her relationship situation – which I cannot elaborate on as this is the ninth book in a series and there’s a ton of spoiler that could be given away there – and this is a sad book.

Being a teenager in the age of instant communication, easy internet access, where mistakes are hard to hide – is very difficult. A completely different world from the one Micky grew up in (and her own situation wasn’t exactly great), and from my own. And one wherein ‘simple’ mistakes can be costly.

On several levels Micky gets pulled into both mysteries (well the non-romance ones I mean by ‘both’). Trying to help a distraught mother/brother and the high school students who knew the dead girl. The ‘scum ball’ was surprisingly easy to track down. But every time Micky thought she was done with that specific case, she kept getting pulled in. And then she became a murder suspect.

The first mystery showed how tough it is to be a woman, a young one, in today’s world. The second mystery showed how tough it was to be a woman, regardless of age, in the world of the early 1900s. Somewhere along the line, Micky ended up finding a diary of a police officer from that time period – and the information contained within it was quite interesting and intriguing.

While a sad book in many ways, it was also an enjoyable book. (Though there was that one occasion when Micky did that one stupid thing late at night .. . . then there was that other time Micky did that stupid thing – albeit if she hadn’t done it . . . right, sorry, spoilers and stuff).

Rating: 4.45

March 17 2017