Murder on Monte Vista
Murder on Monte Vista (Mason Adler Mystery, #1)
Carol Hutchinson's review
Mar 23, 2022
A great new mystery!
Mason’s fiftieth birthday party has been arranged by his friends, of which Walter has arranged a very special present for him. Mason is nervous about the gift but when the young man, Henry, a part of his surprise is murdered, the night takes on a very different turn. As a private detective, Mason must work out how Henry was murdered in a locked room where they were alone, while clearing his name as number one suspect.
I was so excited to find out that David S. Pederson had a new Mystery series coming out and to find out all about Mason, as I had read a couple of his Heath Barrington Mysteries and loved them! Definitely love the new Mason Adler Mystery series and it is off to a fantastic start with Murder On Monte Vista. I was so shocked by the outcome of the story, and applaud how simply, but masterfully, David weave these mysteries. Each one lulls me into a false sense of security, then leaves me suspecting literally everyone, and even though I doubted it could be true, I was taken in with the clues that meant it could have been Mason himself.
The whole story was just amazing, with a brilliant new cast of quirky characters who I am really hoping we get to learn more about throughout the series as we get to know Mason better. He was very charming, and the way he worked was logical but genius in a way that had me excited by his investigations. When he figured out what had happened, I was truly surprised and then wondering how I hadn’t figured it out, all the signs of a fantastic mystery.
I just love the imagery and the way everything is described really puts me in the moment. You feel a part of the story and the way it is written, even though you know Mason is talking to another character, it’s as if he is talking to you personally too, so it is so easy to become emerged in the story and really be a part of it.
Most enjoyable, super exciting, and a series I cannot wait for more of! What a fantastic mystery!
Title: Murder on Monte Vista (Mason Adler Mystery #1)
Author: David S. Pederson
Publisher: Bold Stroke Books
Release Date: March 15, 2022
Genre(s): Murder / Mystery, Private Investigator, Historical
Page Count: 226
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
David Pederson's first series, the Heath Barrington Mysteries set in Milwaukee in the 1950s, introduced us to his detective protagonist and and placed Heath in a number of situations where he was directly involved in the case - in a secluded private home with a host of suspects, on a boat on Lake Michigan where a murder takes place, at a large hotel in Chicago, etc.
In contrast, this first book in his new Mason Adler Mystery series reads as if it were a stage play, with most of the action happening off-stage. We learn of cases that Mason has solved in the past, including a very recent case of a "was it murder or suicide" and the murder (in an ornately decorated home on Monte Vista in post WWII-Phoenix) doesn't kick in until around 65% through the book.
Even when Adler solves this intriguing "locked room" mystery, it doesn't occur at the scene, but rather in a discussion with his acquaintance Walter Wingate, the interior decorator in whose home the murder occurred. As far as the cast of characters, Mason's friend Lydia is nicely fleshed-out, but most of the secondary characters are very lightly developed. One exception is Walter Wingate, but personally I found him very mean-spirited (or completely unaware of anything other than his own interests).
I did like the way Pederson gives us a feel for the era and the manner in which one had to live their life at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. Mason is a character I'd like to learn more about, and I'd like to see him more actively involved in investigating for his clients. 3 stars for Murder on Monte Vista and I look forward to seeing how the series develops.