A Review of Prime Suspect by Cole Baxter

This is the first time I’m reading a novel by Cole Baxter. What drew me in was the title and the book cover. When the story opens, we meet Laurie Whitman, a battered wife who was pronounced dead in the hospital. She then wakes up alive in the morgue surprising Dr. Mario Grace who was about to perform an autopsy on her. She didn’t want to be found especially by the man who put her there…her husband, Devon. So, Dr. Grace and his wife decide to keep her safe until she is ready to resurface. While recuperating under their care, Devon is killed in a house fire. This is odd because Devon was once a firefighter and a fire safety advisor.

We then meet Blake, an ex-police officer turned a private detective, who is hired by an anonymous person to find out what happened and keep it out of the press. The problem is Blake drinks too much and is still mourning the loss of his partner and lover, Lola who was shot in the line of duty. Blake now has to work with his friend Sam from the Seattle police force who has a new partner, Anna to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Overall, Baxter did a good job telling the story from Laurie’s and Blake’s POVs as well as showing them as broken people who eventually got together. Although there were times when the story became repetitive, I enjoyed seeing Laurie gain confidence and power after the abuse. It was also nice to see her be able to trust and open herself up to love again with another man - Blake.

Additionally, I found the twists in the story about Devon and his family interesting as they helped to shed light on his character (I won’t give anything away). Nevertheless, I wanted a bit more tenseness in the story which I thought would’ve heightened the stakes. And yes, I would read another novel by Cole Baxter.

Some of my favorite lines:

Sam shook his head. "Doesn't matter," he replied. "What matters is that you find out the real story. Because when Laurie was brought into the hospital, her husband said that there was a break-in and that she was raped and strangled."

"But that doesn't add up?" I asked.

He pointed toward the medical files in the folder. "Doesn't quite seem to," he said. "She didn't struggle for a lot of the trauma."

"Interesting," I replied. "So, she's recovered, and what is she doing now?"

"Writing books about being abused by her husband," he said.

My jaw dropped. "Oh. Oh. But . . ."

"But her husband is dead," he said. "From a fire."

"So, did she murder him?"

Rating: 3 stars

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