2.7 Stars

Detective Charlie McClung moves to a small town, looking for a less complicated life. However, his very first case has all elements that make him wonder how a town is any different from a city.

A young wife, Dianne, is found shot dead. Before McClung can investigate, the Chief arrives and takes over the case. McClung meets a distraught neighbor, Marian, who swears that Dianne was murdered.

The Chief closes the case in quick time, declaring it a suicide. But Marian is insistent, and McClung finds too many clues to counter her. Can he solve the case before more lives are in danger? Is Marian at risk for actively working on the case with him?

What will happen to the budding relationship between McClung and Marian?

*Unpopular opinion*

The premise was intriguing, and the reviews were just as good. Categorized as thriller and women’s fiction, I hoped the book would have some strong elements of both genres.

What I got instead were a mediocre thriller and a surreal heroine. Or maybe it was just the writing that made Marian surreal.

Spoiler

She’s a 47-year-old widow with a fixed schedule that includes community service, helping others, baking, and spending time with her two friends, Dianne and Joan. Joan seemed to have a steady character that’s not confusing the readers.

Marian goes this way and that, and while I don’t mind it, none of it seems touching (at least to me). Her character had all elements of sadness. She lost her parents when young. Then she lost her husband to a flight crash. She’s been a childless widow more as long as she’s been married.

Yet, it just didn’t work for me. Her mercurial behavior has been attributed to menopause. Though it makes sense, it doesn’t give the story the required meat. Not when some of the other characters are two-dimensional.

That aside, the mystery is barely a mystery. I could figure out the murderer quite early. The red herrings did nothing to change my guess. Yes, I don’t mind guessing the killer right. But when I do it before completing 35% of the book, well, not much of a thriller then, is it? Even a cozy mystery can be complex.

I was willing to let it go if the rest lived up to the expectations. Sadly, it didn’t. We get a couple of chapters with the limited POV of other vital characters, and that’s it. We don’t almost see them again.

Imagine the dead woman’s husband, who was at home when the incident happened, not having any role after 60-65% of the book. To say that their child got more space than Dan would be correct. Kate was an interesting kid, a gray character. If only the reader wasn’t repeatedly told that she was a bully; she hated her mother, and blah blah.

I am ranting here and can’t seem to help it. The case is more or less solved by Marian, that too by chance. McClung shows promise, but the case doesn’t give him enough to prove his worth. He is the one who guides and steers Marian's ideas, and she's the one who discovers the killer could be so and so.

Two more characters from the police station waltz in and out. It only establishes what the reader knows by then.

To sum up, the book is neither a mystery nor a thriller. It could be a cozy mystery but not that interesting either. I still don’t know why the book is titled Brilliant Disguise. I can’t remotely connect it to the story. Or maybe it’s just me. It's clear that most people loved the book, and I'm a minority here.

The book does have a few good things. The pace is steady, and there is some action towards the end. I like Marian’s relationship with Joan and others. She’s sweet and loved by all, and of course, a terrific cook and baker.

Go with the least expectations and consider this a cozy mystery for beginners. You might enjoy it more than I did.

I received a digital review copy from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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