Customer Reviews

Cause for Murder (Hawkman Series, Book 7)

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Tom "Hawkman" Casey is on the job again... although he never expected this one. He and his wife Jennifer are looking forward to their son, Sam, coming home from college for the summer. They never suspected that his gesture of good will would land him in the middle of a murder investigation surrounding childhood friend Maryann Parker, her mother and a mysterious Native American.

I haven't even read the first six books and I am already a Hawkman fan! Extremely well written, I was never at a loss for occurrences in previous books. Touching on characters from previous novels and giving references to events that happened before were brilliantly yet subtly woven into the book. This is not to say that the book was bogged down with describing history either because it wasn't. A tightly woven murder mystery complete with the wholesome Casey family, who could want more? Perfectly contained in its own story, Cause For Murder is a must read but I would recommend starting with number one! This author isn't to be missed.

The quiet time Hawkman and Jennifer are enjoying at Copco Lake comes to an end when Sam, their son, returns from university for the summer holidays. Sam intends to go fishing and spend some quality time with his best friend Richard. But when he offers Maryann, one of Sam's high school classmates, a ride home, he unwillingly gets involved in a murder inquiry.

Burke Parker, Maryann's father has been found dead in a hotel room. Everyone suspects a lethal combination of alcohol and medication. Further investigation however reveals that Paraquat, a very toxic herbicide, has been mixed with his food and booze. Hawkman is asked to assist Detective Williams in finding Burke's murderer.

With the help of his son Sam, Hawkman discovers some very disturbing information. Maryann wasn't Burke's real daughter and she hated him. Lilly, Maryann's mother, has been abused many times by Burke. This makes her a prime suspect. A third party shows up when Hawkman learns about Maryann's real father, a Native American, with a violent history. And what about the vagabond who has been seen close the Lilly's home?

Ms. Sullivan La Pierre has written yet again a very thrilling murder mystery. This time Tom Casey, the lead character in The Hawkman Mysteries, is asked to help in a murder investigation that puts the life of his son and his own in immediate danger. It is a well written book with a plot that has enough drive and unsuspected turns to keep you reading right up till the end. Readers familiar with The Hawkman Series will certainly find this book a worthy addition. However, each book in the series can be read separately.

Sam Casey plans to spend the summer not at school, but instead at home with his parents, his friend Richard and his bike. He gives a lift to Maryann, whose father - Burke Parker, abusive and alchoolist - has been found dead in his motel room.
Although Sam doesn't like the girl, when he sees the conditions of her home, he offers to paint it and fix up the garden. In that adventure he involves his friend Richard. They both pass the week-ends working around the house. But so they witness some strange events that need an explanation: Burke Parker's death, in fact, seems more and more caused by a poison. A poison from the house storage cabinet...
Hawkman, the private investigator married to Sam's mother, decides to intervene. Helping his friend detective Williams to find the truth about Burke's death, he plans to protect Sam and Richard, too often near the trouble.
But the matter worsen, because Maryann and her mother disappear. And clues and suspects begins to accumulate and rebound from person to person...

"Cause For Murder" is the 7th novel in the Hawkman Series, by Betty Sullivan LaPierre. It'a a story I would define "tranquil": without excited action scenes - apart from in the last chapters - it's like a river quietly flowing, carrying the reader in a relaxing voyage. A pleasant voyage, with well-rounded characters, silhouetted against opposed situations: from the almost idyllic family of Sam, Hawkman and Jennifer, to that tormented of Maryann, her mother and her true father; from the scenes of friendship between Sam and Richard, to the incomprehensions and distrust between the boys and Maryann.
"Cause For Murder" is a mystery for people, who love to sip a book as a good liquer, curled up with a cat near a brightly lit fireplace.

What seems a straightforward death from alcoholism and related causes turns out to be something entirely different once Hawkman becomes involved. Because members of his family know members of the dead man's family, Hawkman begins to ask questions.

One fact leads to another and the inevitable suspicions build, pointing toward specific people. Are they guilty? Why did the man die alone in a motel room when he had a family?

Hawkman seeks answers to these questions and wonders if a secret of the victim's family that involves non-family members could be the reason for his death. His investigation points in a specific direction and the law takes an interest.

A recommended read sure to please any mystery fan who likes well-drawn characters, surprise endings and plenty of forward movement to keep you turning the pages. You'll be looking for other books by this talented author. Enjoy. I did.

Murders are often committed in the name of love. Sometimes they truly seem to be justified. Betty Sullivan LaPierre's newest installment in the beloved Hawkman series may be such a case.

Sam, Jennifer and Hawkman's son, comes home for summer break from college. A classmate, Maryanne Parker, catches a ride with him, much to his chagrin. Despite her exceptional beauty, Sam does not particularly like her. She comes on too strong and has been caught in a mistruth more than once. But, when Sam learns that Maryanne's father was found dead in a seedy motel room, his attitude softens. She lets it be known that Burke Parker was a cruel man, the worst kind of father, and she feels no sorrow at his passing. Sam thinks her feelings are somewhat harsh, but lets it go. He decides to offer his help fixing up the Parker house when he realizes how rundown it has become after Burke moved out. The widow, Lilly Parker, could not keep the place up and work the two jobs she needed to make ends meet.

When the investigation into Burke's death starts to look like murder, Sam gets a little worried --- for Maryanne as much as for himself. He is not sure whether Maryanne hated Burke enough to kill him, but she certainly had good reason --- as did many around town. No one misses the man.

Hawkman, as usual, lends his help to the local police. His background as an agent many years ago and a private detective ever since proves him to be more than competent assistance. While he does some legwork, Jennifer provides home support, while Sam gets involved on the fringes. He has some opportunities to talk to Maryanne that Hawkman doesn't. And, since she is sweet on Sam, she spills more than maybe she should. Hm, is Sam going to follow in his dad's footsteps? He seems to have all the makings of a detective.

Naturally, the suspects under the most scrutiny are Maryanne and her mother. Could one of the women have gotten fed up with Burke's brutality enough to do him in? He certainly pushed them far enough. Gather the clues alongside Hawkman and see who you would arrest. You might be surprised by who did it.

With Sam starting to help Hawkman, LaPierre's fans now have double the excitement to look forward to.

Burke Parker is found dead in a hotel room, and at first it appears he mixed too much booze with his medicine and ended up killing himself. But then the coroner finds paraquat, a deadly herbicide, in his body, on the alcohol bottles, and in his food, leading the police to believe he was murdered.

Tom Casey, also known as Hawkman, is called in to help the local police. Three suspects are at the top of Hawkman's list.

Lilly Parker, Burke's wife, endured years of spousal abuse at the hands of her husband, but since she didn't believe in ending a marriage, she hung in there even though she was having an affair with a local Native American. Finally she got tired of Burke's abuse and kicked him out, but he still came back demanding she leave him the leftover bottles of alcohol she was allowed to take home from work at the bar out on the porch along with a bag of food, especially fried chicken, or Burke would break in and beat her. Perhaps Lilly decided to get rid of Burke for good.

Maryann Parker, Burke's daughter, who looks suspiciously Native American, has made it no secret she hates Burke. She once shot him in the leg and threatened to shoot him again at another time if he didn't leave her mother alone. Maybe she decided to choose another way to do away with her father.

Madukarahat or Maduk for short, a Native American of the Shasta tribe has waited not-so-patiently for Lilly to be free of Burke. Maybe he ran out of patients...after all, he did kill a man once.

Ms. Sullivan La Pierre sure knows how to write a page-turning mystery. Though, about a third of the way through "Cause for Murder" I had a sneaky suspicion who the murderer was, I still eagerly turned the pages to find out if I was right, and I was! If you're looking for a light, entertaining mystery on a rainy weekend, look into Betty Sullivan La Pierre's Hawkman Mystery Series. They are sure to capture your attention.