Torment in the Wind - Book Review

Judy Bruce's Torment in the Wind is the seventh installment of the Wind Series. Megan Docket, who is a small-town attorney, is the surprisingly endearing protagonist of the series. Her preferred legal practice is estate planning, wills, and tort cases, but unfortunately, she repeatedly finds herself serving in criminal cases.   She also is a gifted yet troubled female detective. 

A threatening letter mailed from the state of Nevada sets off a series of revelations that unearths deep secrets, and Bruce's layered approach gives the book more than enough plot points to keep the novel exciting.   

Bruce's choice to reveal the possible villain's identities and peel back the layers of their family lives creates an atmosphere full of ominous suspense. Which one of them is the real villain in this story? Which one of them is out to kill Megan? 

 In this new adventure, she finds herself facing one of her arch enemies who had been released from prison, and she feels that he is intent on harming her or even killing her.  The ex-con's name is Trevor Drummond. He holds a serious hatred against Megan because she was instrumental in the death of members of his drug-dealing family. Trevor was serving time in a Nevada prison, the state from where the letter was postmarked. She also is aware of one other potential adversary from Nevada, Rose, the wife of RT Martin. Megan killed Rose's husband a while back, and Rose was not that happy about her husband's demise.  Those are two of the individuals that first seem to be possible suspects behind the threats. They both had plenty of motive for wanting to harm Megan.  

Suddenly an explosion of deaths complicates Megan's life even more. The crimes mount up. Seventy-year-old Carl Shuster is killed. Who was his killer, and why?  Jim Spittle appears to be another person that is destined to be murdered, but by whom and why? Megan Docket has a lot of possible suspects but no solid clues that could lead her to the one who is responsible for this rash of murders. 

The timeless question of what makes a person good or evil lends the narrative, moral weight. Megan Docket is a restless heroine who seems to be constantly untangling complex crimes through her tenacity and feminine intuition. 

This installment to the Wind series can be easily read as a stand-alone novel without the fear of being lost in a bewildering cast of characters. Bruce provides enough back story to make each of her series' installments easy to read as stand-alone novels.  Torment in the Wind is filled with unexpected twists and turns — rich in details and sly humor, and perfect for the armchair sleuth.