(Reviewed by Don Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
Two unlikely murders that don’t appear to be related become the focus of Boston detective Curtis Westcoast and his team as they try to unravel one mystery after another. This is a murder mystery series that is fast-paced, suspenseful and full of twists and turns.
First, a woman with an India passport falls victim in a fatal drive-by shooting. The detectives uncovered a fake passport with very little information on her real identity. They found no cell phone but discovered that she worked in a building where she was the only occupant. The details are so obscure that fellow detective Aislinn must go to India to find out her next of kin and discover the nature of the secret job that she was working.
The second murder involves Mason Kalley, a hedge fund manager, who dies in his home from carbon monoxide poisoning. Ruled first as an accident, the case is reopened when Aislinn discovers that he was meeting frequently with the Indian national prior to her death.
The book is titled The Vulture Fund as the hedge fund was known for acquiring insolvent companies, reinventing their business model, and then selling them for huge profits. Mason Kalley was highly successful, but the detectives soon find his wife, his mistress, and his two kids all have possible motives on his premature death.
Slowly each motive and clue must be solved before it can lead to an exciting conclusion. I was mesmerized the entire time as each chapter led to more questions that need answers. I couldn’t put the book down.
Though I rated the others in the Curtis Westcott series: A Killing Game, and The Wrong Side of Murder, as well as the The Krubera Conspiracy, “A Must Read Now!” (5 bookmarks), I think the Vulture Fund is Jeff Buick’s best novel to date!
