Victim of Convenience: A Chris Crane Mystery

John Ballem's novel A Victim of Convenience (Castle Street Mysteries) is part crime novel, part mystery and wholly satisfying to read. It is set in Calgary, the oil capital of Canada, and has an interesting ensemble of characters that allows Ballem to cast suspicion in numerous directions. Detective Chris Crane is investigating a serial killer nicknamed TLC. The murderer's methods are gruesome; he mutilates his victims and poses them. As the body count rises and cryptic notes begin to appear, Chris must solve the identity of a killer--before another woman dies. Well researched, tightly written, suspenseful and believable, A Victim of Convenience has a gritty darkness, reminding me of James Patterson's Alex Cross series. Mystery lovers will enjoy this novel just as much. ~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, Author of Divine Intervention

Someone in Calgary, Canada, is killing women and leaving their mutilated bodies in the public parks. Most of them are ordinary looking with no seeming connections, but the latest victim turns out to be a young lawyer connected to an important law firm that handles accounts for oil companies. It appears to be the work of the same killer with all the same clues. But Detective Chris Crane has his doubts. The problem is the question of who would want to kill the lady other than the serial killer. It is on that question that the investigation hinges. As the investigation unravels the murder, Chris finds the finger of guilt pointing to several people. Could one of them, a coworker, an old boyfriend, a boss, a stock broker or others be the serial killer? Could the serial killings be intended to cover up the single murder of the lawyer? Those are the questions Chris and his sidekick, Gwen, must deal with to resolve the murder and find the motive. With the city in a state of near panic over the killings, the pressure is on to solve the case quickly. Can it be done? Using a journalist to feed information to the press to make the killer contact them, Chris succeeds beyond expectations when he learns the identity of the killer. Lots of tension in this well told tale that will keep you reading. Red herrings and false trails will have you testing your ability to outguess the detective. I'm happy to recommend this book by talented author John Ballem to any mystery or thriller fan. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I sure did.