"Once Upon A Lie"-Book Review & Author Profile

Another Great Fitzjohn Mystery!

Kindle Edition

http://www.amazon.com/ONCE-UPON-Fitzjohn-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00C5W86XE/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367670926&sr=1-1&keywords=Once+Upon+A+Lie

Paperback Edition
http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Lie-Fitzjohn-Mystery/dp/0987395548/ref=sr_1_4_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367718083&sr=1-4&keywords=ONCE+UPON+A+LIE

"Once Upon A Lie" is the third book in Jill Paterson's series of interesting "cozy" mysteries set in Australia. I have enjoyed reading all three and Once Upon A Lie follows the familiar pattern of the way Jill writes her stories, meticulous and detailed. She takes you on an interesting zigzag tour, including how much of the British influence in Australia is evident, her books remind me a lot of the Sherlock Holmes murder mysteries. 

The scene of her third mystery  is once again in Sydney, a city Jill is very familiar with and visits often. She goes to the scenes she will mention in her books and that attention to detail makes them more realistic and visual in the mind of the reader. Each time she introduces a new character, you have to wonder if they are the murderer, but Jill keeps you guessing until the very end as the story gets more and more complicated with the investigation...the true mark of a captivating mystery.  Once Upon A Lie is a fascinating tale of family dysfunction and the 
ultimate results of how terrible that scenario can play out 
when coupled with greed and jealousy.     

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Book Description

Little did, businessman and entrepreneur, Michael Rossi know that the telephone call he answered on that fateful Friday would be the catalyst for his death, and the subsequent recovery of his body from the waters of Sydney Harbour the following morning.

Recalled from leave to take on the case, Detective Chief Inspector Fitzjohn confronts the first of many puzzles; how Rossi spent the unaccountable hours before he died. This leads him on a paper-trail into a tangled web of deception, jealousy and greed that unravels 
the mystery surrounding Michael’s death.

Unaware of her nephew’s fate, Esme Timmons retires for the evening, unsuspecting of the events about to unfold; events that will, ultimately, expose a grim lie, buried deep in the past.

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Chapter 27

Excerpt:   

"Fitzjohn sat back in his chair, his hands clasped together.  "It’s been an interesting case, Betts.  Our investigation into Michael Rossi’s death turned out to be the catalyst for a string of events.  More than we could have imagined."

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Detective Chief Inspector sums it up at the beginning of the last chapter, "Michael Rossi's death turned out to be the catalyst for a string of events"... that keeps the reader guessing and eventually all falls into place as the puzzle of 
two murders is solved."

Jill and her husband, John, often visit New Zealand and she has sent me some very interesting photos and brochures from there. I do like the fact New Zealand is one of the 
few places on earth that have no snakes.

 The above photo of her was taken there on one of the locations where Lord Of The Rings was filmed. On her last visit, she sent my granddaughter a cute stuffed Kiwi bird from New Zealand and when you squeeze it, it plays a recording of a real Kiwi. We love it!

 Jill wrote that Kiwi's are almost extinct now and only found in zoos. I had no idea, it's such an interesting bird. It's really great having an interesting author friend on the
 "other" side of the world to exchange information with. 

Jill was the first person to respond to my pleas while I was setting up this blog and I may have never accomplished that without her kind and generous help.  We have remained pen-pals. 

One of the other things I find curious and we often discuss, is that the seasons in Australia are the exact opposite of ours. When it's Winter there, it's Summer here. It makes me wonder what kind of weather the Australians associate Christmas with, certainly not snow

 like our holiday greeting cards usually depict. I had never given that much
thought until I met Jill. She is a great author and I do hope you 
check out her books. I'm happy I did.  

Biography

Jill Paterson was born in Yorkshire, UK, and grew up in Adelaide, South Australia before spending 11 years in Ontario, Canada. After returning to Australia, she settled in Canberra, Australia's Capitol.

After doing an arts degree at the Australian National University, she worked at the Australian National University's School of Law before spending the next 10 years with the Business Council of Australia and the University of NSW, ADFA Campus, in the School of Electrical Engineering.

Jill is the author of three published books, The Celtic Dagger, Murder At The Rocks and Once Upon A Lie. All are part of the Fitzjohn Mystery Series.

This is one of the photos Jill sent of the kangaroos she often sees and photographs on her

daily hikes. Below is one of the beautiful photos of parrots and cockatiels

that abound around the outskirts of Canberra where she lives.

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Below are the first two books in the Inspector Fitzjohn series and links to them.

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Rocks-Fitzjohn-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0055TFNWG/ref=pd_sim_kstore_4

http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Dagger-Fitzjohn-Mystery-ebook/dp/B009QTC28E/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1