Angela Abderhalden

Melissa Addison following the deaths of her husband and son in an auto accident returns to her hometown of Quincy, Illinois, to heal and get on with her life. She helps out her brother, Rich at Security Investigations, a private detective agency as a receptionist when she becomes involved in the mystery of four deaths. Mel is constantly throwing a huge pity-party, going on and on ad infinitum, on how she is so hurt by the deaths of her husband and son. I was exhausted by the number of times a character would tell her she had to grieve and let it out. This made it difficult to want to continue reading and complete the story. There was much I didn’t like about the story, but the mystery did continue to develop and maintain momentum enough that it kept me going. I am going to read the next book in this series, hopefully the pity-party will be over or at least toned down.… (meer)

From Amazon: Melissa Mel Addison, an amateur detective, investigates the unthinkable crime, the murder of a mother by her son. When the police are convinced he is guilty, her brothers demand she drop the case. But when she discovers the dead woman's dog is missing, Mel delves into the dark secrets of the woman's past. Forced to uncover the truth alone, Mel searches for the dead woman's small dog in the hope of solving the crime, and to prove her son not guilty. Is the dog alive? As Mel follows the missing dogs trail, she discovers that the elderly woman is not what she seemed. Will the dog lead her to reveal the real murderer or just prove Mel wrong about the son?

Mel is not so much an amateur investigator, but rather a trainee in her brothers private investigation firm. She is a family member of law enforcement as her father and brothers are either prior police officers or current police officers. What she has instead is a need to snoop when details don't fit. This is the 2nd book of this series and it was a solid read.… (meer)

Questionable Ethics is a light mystery, offset by the darker undercurrent of loss and mourning.

I enjoyed the setting, with Mel back in her hometown. The family interaction was believable, adding elements of both drama and humor. The plot kept my interest, though at times I felt Mel was a bit too much of a superhero. She was able to work the case better than the experienced PIs and the cops. But she's a fun character and I didn't mind stretching credibility a bit to follow her along.

My major issues with this book could easily be solved with a good editor. The characters did an absurd amount of smiling and winking. Right behind that was the constant hand and shoulder patting. I had visions of people walking around doing nothing more than smiling, winking, smirking, grinning, and patting each other's hands. This took away from the emotions, rather than adding to them. Characters began feeling more like caricatures than people. By midway, I was ready to give up on the book. I'm glad I stuck with it because there is much to like here, providing you can get past all those gleaming teeth.… (meer)