Review: Hand of Fate - Lis Wiehl with April Henry

When the host of a popular radio talk show is murdered, the suspects almsot outnumber his millions of listeners.

Outspoken radio talk show host Jim Fate dies tragically when poisonous gas fills the studio while his polarizing show, "The Hand of Fate," is on air.

In the ensuing painc, police evacuate downtown Portland - and the triple threat of FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, crime reporter Cassidy Shaw, and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce begin piecing together the madness, motive, and mystery of what just happened.  And this time, it's personal since one of the women was secretly dating the host and has access to his home...as well as possible evidence.

In the days following Fate's murder, these three colleagues and friends confront a betrayal within the team while unearthing the not-so-public life of Jim Fate.  Together, they must uncover the stunning truths of who killed him, how close the killer really is, and the motive for this cold-blooded murder.

Triple Threat Series:
Face of Betrayal
Hand of Fate
Heart of Ice (Spring 2011)

For more information visit Lis Wiehl's website

Review:
This is the second book in the Triple Threat series by Lis Wiehl and April Henry and although I've not read the first book Face of Betrayal I still really enjoyed Hand of Fate.  The story revolves around the murder of Jim Fate, a controversial radio talk show host.  Jim dies when poisonous gas is released into his studio and the whole of downtown Portland is evacuated.  Each of the three main characters - FBI Special Agent Nicole, crime reporter Cassidy and Federal Prosecuter Allison - are caught up in the ensuing panic and affected in very different ways.  The 3 of them are going to have to work together to put together the clues and find the murderer.

It's been a while since I read a murder mystery but Hand of Fate had me gripped from the very beginning and I found it almost impossible to put down.  Although we don't get to know Jim very well before his death we find out a lot about him through the investigation and although he doesn't come across as a very nice person he certianly didn't deserve to die in the way he did.  The panic after the murder was very well written and had me gripped and I loved the fact that I wasn't able to work out who was the murderer - there was a very long list of suspects!

I really liked Nicole, Allison and Cassidy - they all have very distinct personalities and I liked the way the narrative switched between them so you got to see all sides of the story.  Although I've not read the first book in the series I still enjoyed this installment but I am definitely planning on reading Face of Betrayal and will continue reading future books in the series.  I think it might be better to read the series in order to make it easier to follow their growing friendship.  Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys reading mysteries and crime novels.

Source: Recieved for review from publisher Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze blogger review program

Other Reviews:
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