Book Review - Natural Suspect By William Bernhardt

Them Crooked Vultures are a supergroup; a band made up of musicians who are already famous for their work, either individually or as part of other famous bands. With Natural Suspect, William Bernhardt has assembled himself a supergroup of mystery-writers, including Gini Hartzmark, Phillip Margolin and Laurence Shames, to name but a few.

The Story:

Rich owner of Hightower Oil, Arthur Hightower, has had enough of his cheating wife and deadbeat children and announces his intentions to disinherit the lot of them. Next thing we know, he’s been clubbed to death and shoved in the family freezer, where he is found clutching his wife’s pearl necklace. Being an alcoholic prone to blackouts, Julia Hightower finds herself without an alibi and, when police find Arthur’s blood on her blouse, she is immediately arrested and charged with cold-blooded murder.

Little-known lawyer Devin McGee steps in at this point, to defend Julia Hightower and, in the process, uncovers a staggering number of skeletons in an equally staggering number of closets!

Despite being a single story line, Natural Suspect is divided into chapters, each written by a different famous mystery writer! What’s more, with the exception of the first chapter, written by Bernhardt, there is no indication of who wrote which of the other chapters – giving the reader their own personal mystery to solve while the characters go about solving theirs.