Book Review: A Shattered Lens by Layton Green

Book Review: A Shattered Lens by Layton Green

The lowdown on Goodreads

Publication Date July 16th, 2019

A detective investigates the murder of a teenage golden boy that has rocked a small town–and the chief suspect is the victim’s mother.

Annalise Stephens Blue is a Creekville high school student with plans to become a world-famous filmmaker. As she begins filming an exposé of the town called Night Lives, she uncovers more than she bargained for: on the very first night of filming, she stumbles upon a murder in the woods, and flees the scene steps ahead of the killer.

Detective Joe “Preach” Everson is called to investigate the murder. The victim, David Stratton, is the town’s golden boy and high school quarterback. A modern version of what Preach used to be. Not only that, the boy’s mother is Claire Lourdis, a beautiful divorcée who Preach fell for in high school. She is also the main suspect in her son’s murder.
    
Despite the cloud of suspicion hanging over her, old feelings resurface between Claire and Preach, straining the detective’s relationship with his girlfriend Ari, a prosecutor in nearby Durham. As Preach delves into the secrets lurking beneath the surface of the town and searches for a missing girl who may have witnessed the crime, he must put his own feelings aside and pursue the answer to a terrible question: is a mother capable of murdering her own child?

Book Review: A Shattered Lens by Layton Green

I sure do love a good detective story. In A Shattered Lens, a detective is part of a murder investigation involving an old High School friend.

Crime Story

As someone from a small town, I really relate to the idea of everyone knowing each other’s business. Luckily, this comes in handy for Detective Preach. Old friends are able to give him a new insight to help solve the crime. As Preach digs deeper into the case, corruption & greed are simmering right under the surface. This town has a lot of secrets.

For Preach, there’s a lot on the line for this case. Surely, he can solve the crime of a mother charged with killing her son. Especially since that mother is his old High School crush.

Thrilling, Thought-Provoking & Eye-Opening

One of the things I truly like about A Shattered Lens is the dual timelines. Honestly, it made me relive my High School Days. That feeling of walking into a crowded stadium during a game & friends calling out to you. It’s a good feeling to know that even though you might have left your town & that part of your life behind. It didn’t leave you.

A Shattered Lens is a quick read. While it’s a story about a serious crime, it’s not too dark or violent. I really love Preach. I think Preach is born to be a cop. He’s got a great heart & his thought process is suited for solving crimes. He’s able to see the good in people even though he often sees the dark side of humanity.

THE VERDICT

I am Really Into This book! Check it out if you’re a fan of Hill Street Blues or Columbo. You’re in for a great crime story. Rest assured, Preach will keep digging until he gets to the truth. I hope Layton Green continues to write stories centered around Preach. He’s a great character.

Special thanks to Layton Green, Seventh Street Books & Kaye Publicity for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: LAYTON GREEN

Layton is a bestselling author who writes across multiple genres, including mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, and fantasy. He is the author of the popular Dominic Grey series, as well as other works of fiction. His novels have topped numerous lists (including a #2 overall Amazon bestseller) and have been nominated for major awards, including two finalists for an International Thriller Writers award. Layton is also the co-editor of International Thrills, the online magazine of ITW (International Thriller Writers).

In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade (even though he still resents having cut his hair for that first interview). He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door-to-door phone book deliverer in Florida, and the list goes downhill from there. Currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Layton has traveled to more than sixty countries, lived in a number of them, and has a burning desire to see every country, city, beach, moor, castle, cemetery, twisted street and far flung dot on the map.