Review of The Poetry of Murder by Bernadette Steele

The Poetry of Murder is a tale of lies, secrets, and revenge that will find you weaving through twists and turns every step of the way.

Aspiring African American poet, Geneva Anderson finds her aunt, Victoria Franklin murdered in her office at International House. She is stunned once more when she discovers that she has inherited her aunt's estate that is worth millions.

After the inheritance leads to Geneva becoming the prime suspect, she is arrested for her aunt's murder. To clear her name, she decides to search out the real killer on her own, despite the advice of many friends. The more she discovers about Victoria's past, the more Geneva fears her aunt might not be who she thought she was. As lies are uncovered and long-held secrets revealed, Geneva is forced to learn The Poetry of Murder.

I was thrilled with this cozy murder mystery from debut author, Bernadette Steele. She drops the reader right into the action and it never stops until the murderer is revealed. Geneva Anderson makes the perfect amateur sleuth because she truly learns as she goes, using only past experience and common sense to move her investigation along.

There were so many twists and turns to this novel I almost got dizzy and I honestly had no idea who the real killer was until I read it. Steele wove a great plot, included a well-developed set of characters, and plenty of mystery and suspense to come up with an outstanding first novel.

The cover didn't do much for me. I liked the black, red, and white print on a yellow background, but the black and white photo of International House wasn't what I would like to see on such a page turner. And having seen the video trailer for this novel at YouTube, I feel there is so much more that could have been done to design an attention-getting cover.

All lovers of cozy murder mysteries will want to pick up The Poetry of Murder by Bernadette Steele. I look forward to the next book in this series starring amateur sleuth, Geneva Anderson.


Title: The Poetry of Murder
Author: Bernadette Steele
Publisher: Oak Tree Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-892343-08-6
ISBN-10: 1-892343-08-8
U.S. Price: $12.95

This review first appeared at The Book Connection.