S. T. Ashman is an American-German writer born in Germany, calling the beautiful U.S. Seacoast her home. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and worked in the criminal justice system as a psychotherapist. That role gifted her with unique insight into the human psyche, both the beautiful and the deeply shadowed. In another life, she’d be a trench coat-wearing, mystery-solving female version of Columbo. A history and crime documentary lover to the core, she weaves mystery and history into action-packed fiction that keeps readers turning pages late into the night. While she explores different genres, her books have one thing in common: people are always shocked by the twists.
I had high hopes for this one since it was marketed as a female Dexter, but the further I read, the more it fell apart. Leah is a piano savant who makes her living performing, and on the side she tracks down killers and disposes of them—with the help of her FBI friend who conveniently covers it all up.
The premise sounded great, but the execution was eye roll worthy. The details felt sloppy and under-researched, which killed the authenticity for me. One example: Leah gives a killer drugs and claims the police will think he overdosed—but if someone were truly a junkie, there would be track marks and other physical signs. Little misses like that piled up, and by the end, the whole story just lost credibility.