Customer Reviews

The Hatch and Brood of Time

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Don't miss this one, mystery lovers! Ellen Larson is an author to be reckoned with, as is her protagonist, Natalie Joday.  This well-paced puzzle-mystery builds and builds, weaving an intricate plot with intelligent writing and emotions that ring true. I was amazed at the dovetailing of details in this story.  Having been a detective, it drew me in as did the various characters, all real and delightfully unique.  They, combined with the ever-changing situation, wouldn't release me.  I had to keep reading. Larson understands people, so hold onto your seat, she may be profiling a bit of you in one of her players.  She captured my attention.  Can't wait to read her next book.

Right from the start, I wanted to know more about Natalie Jorday, the main character. She's lonely and burnt-out and so lovable that I wanted things to go better for her with her job as a reporter, with her brother and his mysterious past, and with her love life. Soon I wanted to know more about her brother and also Natalie's flirtation with the police detective. The characters in this book felt so real. I'm so glad to hear there is a sequel called "Unfold the Evil" because I didn't want the story to end.

THE HATCH AND BROOD OF TIME is the first in a series of Natalie Jorday.

Natalie lives in the corner of northwestern New Jersey called Bergen County in a town called Haworth where she has lived her whole life. She is a newspaper reporter that has a talent for getting all the facts.

Natalie has a brother Daniel, who has been in trouble with the law most of his life and now an ex-girlfriend is found murdered, 26-year-old Lydia Dow who was very pretty and obsessed with danger and the high that it gave her, was found semi-frozen beneath the Parkway, she had been missing since Feb 8th, and police suspect that is the same day that she died. Daniel is a suspect because of his past with the police. Natalie feels that she is the only one to clear her brother. This story is about relationships, family betrayal, greed and Natalie must sift through this maze and clear her brother.

The unique characters are all real to life and any one of them could be the murderer. The author has created a woman (Natalie) as fascinating as her world is haunting. Natalie manages to uncover secrets of the past, even though some of them may hurt her and Daniel. What a fabulous character she is!

This is not just a mystery of "who did it?" but "why?" Ellen Larsen's first outing is a force to be reckoned with, expect big things from this author.

I could hardly put this book down. The mystery is gripping and the characters are realistic, with believable emotions and problems.

I especially liked Natalie Joday, who turned out to be a very practical and well balanced human being despite her difficult childhood.

The book is well written with a dash of humor and a hint of romance, and some very surprising twists.

I recommend it whole-heartedly.

Move this one to the top of your TBR pile! Very well plotted. I particularily liked the way newspaper reporter Natalie Joday reflected on her past difficulies with the police, but didn't let her bad experiences cloud her decision making. I'll be watching for the next in the series to see how the hint of romance developes.

The murder of Lydia Dow is intricately and deftly woven into the emotional lives of Natalie and Daniel Joday. Daniel, the wayward brother who is short on confidence but long on compassion, has a history with the deceased. That added to his prison record put him high on the list of suspects. This is a story about relationships, family betrayal, greed, with just about everyone involved being a suspect. A tightly woven mystery in the first of the Natalie Joday series. I look forward to the next.

This book is about a murder in New Jersey--but no Mafia hitmen or tough-talking private eyes inhabit this particular landscape. "The Hatch and Brood of Time" presents a far different aspect of the Garden State. Placed in the placid, affluent suburbs of northern Bergen County, this murder mystery might have taken place in England. There is the "castle" on the hill, inhabited by a controlling father, wicked stepmother, quirky cousin who lives in the garden house, and two daughters, one of whom turns up dead. The dialogue is literate and a family inheritance is crucial to the plot.

The main character, Natalie Joday, a newspaper reporter, gets drawn into the plot because her brother once dated the murdered girl and is now a suspect. The Jodays were the poor kids in the neighborhood after their father went alcoholic, while the Dows--the rich folks who live in the "castle" turn out to have just as many family dysfunctions.

Although there is a budding romance between Natalie and the police sergeant, the true love/hate relationships here are familial--sister and sister, brother and sister, father and child. Several minor characters, including the manager of a community theater and the nasty Dow cousin, add color to the story. But the mystery here is not only "who did it" but why. And the background themes--the problems that reckless parents foist upon their children--the enduring scars of kids who are "outsiders" in an affluent town--have their own power.

I hope some enterprising movie producer scoops this one up. I would like to see that final chase through the hills of northern New Jersey not far from the Palisades and Fort Lee, where the earliest movie thrillers were first filmed.