Deadly Puzzles

Mapleton Mysteries, Book 3

By: Terry Odell

Narrated by: Steve Marvel

Solving a crime is like piecing together a puzzle. But what happens if the pieces don't fit?

When police chief Gordon Hepler's doctor orders him to cut down on the stress in his life or risk losing his vision, Gordon books a winter retreat at a remote bed and breakfast. Hours away from Mapleton, where nobody knows he's a cop, he plans to relax and try to forget about his eyes.

However, traveling "incognito" doesn't mean he's left his cop instincts behind. His curiosity is piqued when one of the other guests at the B&B doesn't appear to be who she claims. Before he can explore the puzzle she presents, a man shows up, pleading for help. His car's gone off the road, and his wife is inside.

Although a blizzard is approaching, Gordon can't refuse the frantic man's request and agrees to help him search. Fighting the storm, Gordon and the man struggle down a ravine to the car. What they find turns out to be one more puzzle, and it's not the last Gordon faces.

Are they unrelated coincidences? Or part of one bigger mystery? Or is he seeing a crime where none exists? Well outside his jurisdiction, with his health at stake, Gordon wonders whether he should follow his cop impulses, or remember he's on vacation and let the locals handle it. When it becomes personal, Gordon has no choice.

©2014 Terry Odell (P)2017 Terry Odell

Honorary six stars!

Terry Odell sets up the perfect scene for a murder in Deadly Puzzles. Seven people are cooped up in a Bed and Breakfast during a severe snowstorm: an artist, a travel blogger, a nature guide, a stranded motorist, the two owners of the B&B, and a cop. The blizzard has taken out the power and the phones. And one of the people might be a murderer. A car accident near the B&B was caused by two gunshots, and two people have been injured and two more killed, including the driver, who was killed with a bullet to his head. The drama intensifies with the fact that when the vacationing police chief from Mapleton, CO, Gordon Hepler, and the stranded driver go to find the disabled car, the driver's wife has disappeared from it.

Steve Marvel returns from the previous two Mapleton books to narrate this book, and he does a fantastic job! His voice is well-suited to the content of the book, and he really embodies the mood of the book.

I loved this book! I loved the previous two books in the series, but this was even better. It captivated my attention and kept me listening until sadly, it was over! The plot was well crafted and highly creative. I wish I could award this more than five stars, so I give it an honorary six stars!

Enjoyable quick read

After a string of not-great audiobooks I landed on this one and really enjoyed it! There were a lot of unknowns in the story- and each time the story seemed like it might be slowing down a new piece was added to present another angle to the mystery. I'll be looking forward to trying out more books by this author.

Great

I have really enjoyed this series and have been not so patiently waiting for the rest of the books to come out on audio. I really feel like it adds to the story as I can picture the characters better with the narrator's voice and like to either listen to an entire sires or read it. Gordon is trying to take some time off, but finds himself entangled in mystery and a couple of deaths even as he is relaxing at a B and B. He tries to keep it under his had that he is law enforcement, but try as he might, he cannot stay on the sidelines. I look forward to the next one.

Clever story

What did you love best about Deadly Puzzles?

I enjoyed the Chief of Police and his problems.

What did you like best about this story?

Going on vacation for one's health can be harmful to one's health.

What about Steve Marvel’s performance did you like?

He is clear and understandable and changes his voice to fit the characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I liked how he tried to protect the ones he cared about, but they did not always appreciate it.

A cozy mystery

This was my first Mapleton Mystery and I loved it. Trying to piece together all of the "puzzle pieces" as the story unfolded kept me interested and constantly guessing what would come next.

I wouldn't hesitate to check out Terry Odell's other works or Steve Marvel's other narrations.

Vacation from Police Work

Any additional comments?

Police Chief Gordon Hepler has been ordered by his doctor to reduce his stress that was endangering his eye sight. Hepler decided to heed doctor’s warning and take a vacation at a quiet bed and breakfast a few hours away from Mapleton where no one knows he is a policeman. Even though he is keeping his job a secret he can not turn his police instincts behind him. The other guests (a travel blogger, artist, outdoorsman, and a man that was in an auto accident which he claims his wife disappear from their car he left behind to find help) are each acting a little strange. Helpler tried to help the man locate his missing wife with no luck. As they return back to the B&B a snow storm hits insuring no one was leaving anytime soon. Hepler soon learns of another auto accident near by where the driver was shot and killed possible from a hunter’s stray bullet. Helpler keeps encountering more puzzles as he tries to secretly learn more about the B&B guest all the while trying to keep from losing his eyesight.

This book was a little bit different from the first two books in the series by still very enjoyable. Author Terry Odell knows how to include the right amount of red herrings to keep the mystery going through the climax of the story. I really enjoyed getting to know Chief Helper away from his small town of Mapleton although I did miss the other series characters which we find out were still quite active back in Mapleton. The risk of losing your eyesight can be very bad for anyone but for a police chief this could be the end of your job, this was a very unique storyline which I enjoyed seeing Hepler struggle to reduce his stress and still satisfy his suspicious nature.

I listened to the audio version of this book and Narrator Steve Marvel did a wonderful job bring Chief Hepler to life. Marvel diction, timing, and tone make you believe your are really hearing a Police Chief discuss his investigation.

I would recommend this book as well has the previous books in the series to mystery/police procedural fans.
**I voluntarily reviewed an Audio Copy of this book, above is my honest opinion.**

A cozy thriller!

This was the first book I listened to in this series, and I'm hooked! This whole story was full of moving puzzle pieces, and I never knew who to trust. I was suspicious of everyone and always second guessing who was genuine and who was all a part of the tangled mystery. As the odd deaths & break ins piled up I felt myself spinning theories as to who did what and how they could all be linked. It was a fun ride!

I also really enjoyed Gordon as a lead character. So often in cozy mysteries the cop is just a secondary character. But with this book I got to peek behind the curtain and see what goes on in the mind of a police officer as he hunts for a killer. All the steps that Gordon took to separate speculation from facts was interesting and made this book special. The narration was spot on, and made this a really enjoyable listen.

Uninteresting and repetitive.

I am giving up at around the 60% mark. I tried to push through to learn the solution to the mystery, but I really don’t care.

The narration saves, what to me, is not a very entertaining mystery. I didn’t care for any of the characters, the mystery was unexciting and the investigation was beyond tedious. The story was often padded with unnecessary fillers; there was too much repetition of thoughts and information, and mundane details were included for no reason.

You know what else I didn’t like? The double standards; It’s noted that the female blogger is the type of woman to have a one night stand with a man she met at the B&B but nary a word is said about the man indulging in this behaviour. Puh-lease!