A Murderous Innocence (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Susan Oleksiw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Oleksiw's series featuring Police Chief Joe Silva (Friends and Enemies, 2000) has a lot going for it. First, its protagonist: deep--thinking, big-hearted Joe, whose dark job has not turned him into a cynic. In addition, the series' setting is remarkably well drawn: Mellingham is a small Massachusetts coastal town full of hardworking citizens who run family businesses and try to keep their kids safe from drugs and other "big city" vices threatening to invade the countryside. Finally, readers will luxuriate in Oleksiw's lush, evocative prose, a rarity in mystery fiction. In this outing, Joe is investigating the connection between young Ron Faroli, who overdosed on drugs, and his friend Miles Stine, who supposedly fell out of a window to his death. Meanwhile, Gwen, Joe's girlfriend, is worried about her young son, Phillip, who may be hanging out with the druggy crowd. Oleksiw does a fine job of portraying small-town life, with its inherent fears, hopes, and tragedies. This is a series that, once discovered, will become required reading for mystery fans who straddle the fence between cozy and hard-boiled. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 263 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (April 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594143757
• ISBN-13: 978-1594143755
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,686,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Oleksiw is the author of the Mellingham series of crime novels featuring Chief of Police Joe Silva and a second series featuring Indian-American photographer Anita Ray, set in India, where Oleksiw has lived and traveled widely. She has written extensively on crime fiction, including reviews, essays, and scholarly articles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back Joe!, June 21, 2006

By 

Kaye Jones (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Murderous Innocence (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

In Oleksiw's fifth book of this series, two drug-related deaths draw Police Chief Joe Silva into the shady underworld of Mellingham. When his investigation crosses paths with teens of the town, one of whom is his live-in girlfriend's son, it becomes personal for Joe. Once again, Oleksiw has depicted small town life in New England with a clear eye to the contrast between traditions and worldliness, and all that is encompassed therein, both good and bad. Her characters are real and you know them; they live down the street. The plot is real; you read about it in the newspapers, and the idea that it could happen in your town, maybe with your own children terrifies you. Beautifully written, A Murderous Innocence keeps the reader guessing through twists and turns until the final chilling outcome.

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent police procedural, May 6, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Murderous Innocence (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Most of the townsfolk of Mellingham attended the funeral of Ron Faroli, a former drug user. Not long afterward, Ron's friend, also a member of the Mellingham Community Center, Miles Stine's falls out of a third floor window. Chief of Police Joe Silva feels the coincidence is too much to ignore though the evidence points towards an accident.

Other former addict pals of Ron and Miles are nervous that they will be next. Meanwhile Joe tries to keep everyone calm as he makes inquiries. He especially is concerned with the parents of the recently deceased as George Faroli and Edna Stine are popular life residents. However, as he digs deeper into the Stine death, Joe begins thinking it is a homicide by someone who knew the second victim, but wonders who would want him dead and why, the answer of which remains elusive as the ties between the deaths lead nowhere.

Police procedural fans will enjoy A MURDEROUS INNOCENCE as Joe struggles with a homicide investigation in which the evidence seems more like a coincidental accident caused by drugs; still he persists because the twin deaths nag at his mind. The townsfolk know one another so they prefer that Joe stop digging and accept the deaths as an accident as they cannot accept one of them as a killer. Thus Joe has his work cut out for him while readers obtain a strong mystery.

Harriet Klausner