The Spider Bites by Medora Sale

Publisher: Raven Books

This book is referred to as a "Rapid Read" book, short, with a little larger print. These books are easy to read and would be great for invalids, anyone with a shorter attention span, a commuter, or anyone who enjoys a quick break with a book.

Medora Sale has authored a great story with all the traditional and exciting elements of mystery held within a smaller package. As a shorter story, "The Spider Bites" lost none of its edge of mystery.

This full-fledged story begins with Rick Montoya, a suspended police officer under investigation for corruption. His nickname is the Spider, and he is innocent but does not expect to be accepted by his fellows even if cleared. He has spent the summer working on a farm and is just returning home.

The corruption frame is only part of what happens in this book. His former life is in chaos and the house his apartment is in goes up in suspicious flames. The action is crisp, the reader learns a surprising amount about his former life, his friends, his wife. There is a strong sense of more than one thing going on. Two people died in the fire, one of them in his apartment, which changes the core of the story... or does it? Are the murders related to the corruption charge? Is there something else going on?

This book will hold your attention to a satisfying close, regardless of being a faster than usual read. I really enjoyed the story-line and read it all in one day, not something I'm usually able to do. Quite frankly, I want to read more from this Canadian author.