W.A Tyson

Delilah Percy Powers operates a private investigation office in Philadelphia. One of the more interesting things about the office is that it is staffed by all women. Delilah was a week away from her marriage when her fiance was killed in a kayak accident. She mourns him still years later and his body was never found. Maybe that's why the PI business interests her so.

Margot is the office manager and an ex-nun possessed with "uncanny intuition". Barb is a sensible, resourceful stay-at-home mom married to a cop. She was looking for a job with flexible hours, and working for Delilah fit the bill. Natasha is a single mom of a three-year-old boy who lived on the streets for awhile and is tough as nails.

Their newest client wants Delilah to investigate her aunt's murder. Miriam Cross wrote feminist literary novels and she was found decapitated in a house she rented under an assumed name. Cross was not well liked by many people, her novels were controversial, but as the investigation proceeds, it becomes clear that she wasn't the quiet maiden aunt that her niece was led to believe.

The investigation uncovers links to white slavery, a financial institution's involvement, mob connections, an underground railroad system for abused women run by a nun, a hacker trying to get a job with Percy Powers, and Cross' kinky relationship with two men. I have to confess that I had trouble following the resolution of the convoluted mystery, but Tyson did keep me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen.

I became very invested in Percy Powers Investigations, and really enjoyed the scenes among all of the women in the agency. Tyson's strong suit is writing about these interesting women. I can see this as a series of books, and I would love to find out more about these women and how they came to this point in their lives. Tyson's strong suit is writing about these interesting women.… (más)

This book is purported to be the first in a series about a women's detective agency headed by Delilah Percy Powers. I do so hope that is the case. Delilah and her co-workers, an ex-nun, ex-stripper and a supposedly simple housewife work together to solve the cases brought to them. This time a former client comes in with concerns regarding the murder of her aunt - Miriam Cross, a famous writer. As Delilah delves into the case we learn more about Miriam than perhaps we want to know. We also slowly get to know the histories of the women of the firm.

The story is a page turner full of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. In fact the last revelation caught me completely by surprise. You have to love that in a thriller/suspense novel. The characters are are well developed and while Ms. Tyson gave us a fair bit of their histories I feel there is still a lot more to learn and I WANT to learn it. I found myself completely immersed in this book and even though the topics covered were not always pleasant the writing was so good I was able to get passed the evil characters and focus on the good. For how can one have a thriller without bad people?

If you are looking for a really good mystery/thriller with a great cast of female characters (and a couple of strong men thrown in for good measure) this is definitely the book to pick up; it's thought provoking, entertaining, thrilling and just damn good.… (más)

4 STARS

This is a more darker detective mystery than I have read lately. It deals with murders of women now and here in our country. So it is not a light subject but a important one. Miriam Cross was murdered and her niece hired Delilah's Detective Agency to find out who killed her.
I like Delilah detective agency. The women come from different background and skill set. One was a Nun, prostitute,
a teacher, and Delilah herself a lawyer. These women work well together. They are very interesting characters.
I like them.
Delilah goes beyond what she is hired to do. She cares about her co-workers, client and women she has met along the way. She is single with a tragic past. She owns horses and lives in a old house.
The suspense is good and you are not sure who all is involved with the murder till the end. Or the full motive of why she was killed. Their are plenty of suspects and motive as they try and unravel Miriam's life in hiding for the past year.
I would like to read more about Delilah detective agency in the future. Get to know her employees a little better and see what they are up too.
I was given this ebook to read for the purpose of reviewing and being part of the book tour.… (más)

The Seduction of Miriam Cross by Wendy Tyson


The Seduction Of Miriam Cross by W A Tyson begins with a tense scene in which it is obvious something very bad is about to happen. This sets the stage for what becomes a murder mystery that leads to unexpected places, none of which I expected when I began reading. The book deals with issues in today's society that are addressed somewhat, but not nearly enough is being done to stop the illegal and horrific practices of human trafficking.

The central character, Delilah Percy Powers, owns a detective agency. She has three women working with her: a former Nun, a homemaker, and a former stripper/bartender/masseuse. These women form a team that works very well together, but they could use one more person with a knowledge the rest of them are lacking: someone who knows how to get information from the Internet that isn't common knowledge for everyone. As resistant as Delilah is to bringing another person into the group (she doesn't like change), she knows her agency cannot do the work they need without someone on staff to handle the computer end of detecting. This leads to her hiring Matthew Anderson, a former journalist, who has exactly the qualifications Percy Powers needs.

When Lucinda Mills, Delilah's first pro bono case, calls upon Delilah to help her find out more details about the death of her aunt, Miriam Cross. Miriam was murdered, but the police aren't doing very much to investigate the case, and a gag order has been placed on all information surrounding Miriam's mysterious death, so it hasn't received any news coverage. Lucinda stands to inherit from Miriam's estate, and she plans to use this money to pay Delilah for her work. Miriam Cross had been wealthy thanks to her successful career as an author mainly dealing with women's issues. Not all of her work was a commercial success, but Miriam had enough to fund her favorite women's charities as well as leaving enough for Lucinda to be free of financial worries. Delilah agrees to take on the case even though there doesn't seem to be much evidence to launch much of an investigation. However, Delilah's team is nothing if not creative and fearless when they set out to investigate a case. For this one they need all the creativity and fearlessness they can muster since nothing is as it appears to be, and everything seems shrouded in secrecy.

For me, this book was not a run-of-the-mill murder mystery. First, because Delilah is a complicated woman with a lifestyle atypical from most women her age. She's known great sadness in her past, and this haunts her in her present more than she'd like to admit. Her life seems very solitary, but that's the way she wants it because she believes this will bring her peace. She's very self-sufficient, and she surrounds herself with other women who fit that same category.

Second, the other women characters in the story are every bit as interesting and diverse as Delilah. Margo is a 72 year old Nun and former headmistress. Her age in no way hinders her from being a productive member of Delilah's team. Natasha has had her training at the School of Hard Knocks. She has an 8 year old son she wants to provide with a house complete with yard and puppy. She saves every cent she can get toward this end. Barb is the homemaker married to a cop who can sometimes be helpful in getting information for Barb's cases. Barb manages her job as well as her kids with calm and creativity. It takes a lot to ruffle her feathers. Together these four women would be interesting in any setting. As detectives they are all forces to be reckoned with.

Third, this mystery stood out for me because it is a multilayered story that has twists and turns often enough to hold my interest throughout the book. The subject matter was unfamiliar to me, and I always appreciate reading books that educate as well as entertain me. It seems to me that most women would be interested in the subject of human trafficking since most of the victims are other women. The details of this kind of activity are horrific, which is reason enough to make awareness of this crime a priority. Tyson has done an excellent job of exposing some of the ways in which this travesty takes place.

Just when I thought the mystery and Miriam Cross' murder was solved, there was one final twist I never expected. It was the perfect ending to a well plotted, well written mystery. I highly recommend this book to any mystery lover, or anyone who likes to read women's lit. This would make a perfect gift for someone with those reading inclinations.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


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