It is an absolute pleasure to share my review today for Parish the Thought by H. Max Hiller. This is the 5th book in the Cadillac Holland Mystery series and I have been waiting so long for it to finally appear. It was a couple of years ago when Hiram invited to read his Holland Mystery books and I absolutely enjoyed them. Since then Hiram has found a new publisher with Indies United Publishing House, and I finally got to catch up wit Holland, Tony, Roux and a few more literary friends from Louisiana

So, here is more about the book…

Synopsis…

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but this is Louisiana, where everything gets a splash of hot sauce.

Detective Cadillac Holland is called upon to locate Senator Chester Donovan’s missing daughter-in-law. A pool of blood in the trunk of her Mercedes exposes unexplained deaths in a town once described as being a place “where there are more alligators than people, and the alligators are friendlier.” The solution to this mystery lies buried in the town’s sordid history, a story that changes with each telling. Detective Holland must find what is driving an innovative and vengeful killer before he becomes their next victim.

Purchase from Amazon UK or US (UK link is an affiliate link)

My Review…

Oh what an absolute pleasure it is to catch up with Cadillac Holland as he is asked to investigate a missing person. This case is outside his jurisdiction as such but it is by special request that he has been asked to run the case!

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in this series I was looking forward to seeing what the author had in store for his main protagonist. The case takes Holland to the Bayou, a close-knit community where generations of families have lived. Some families have the luxury of wealth, power and status. Others are not as fortunate! The family name is everything as is the businesses they run and the seats of power they inhabit. Alliances and allegiances are very evident throughout the story.

Now, the story. From previous experience, I do know that this author does like to take a twisted and often devious route to get from the initial question to the final answer. This is certainly the case for this book. What starts as a missing person case morphs into something much deeper and darker. Illegal activities are gradually brought to light and this keeps the goalposts moving as such. One question may be asked and answered leading to more questions appearing. Knowing what to ask, when to ask and who to ask is definitely the key.

Holland is a character who I really like, he has a past that is interesting and gives him some special skills that are needed if he wants t get to the bottom of this case. He does have back up in the form of family and very good friends, one of which is a dog. Then there is the food, the author has an interest in the food trade and this makes for some wonderful sounding dishes.

This is a story that is mystery and intrigue from start to finish. While there are bodies there is not so much blood and guts. It is a mystery first and then merges into something else. The author has chosen a specific route for the story to travel down and it highlights a very important subject. I think the author has definitely tackled this sympathetically and not gone into too much detail, but given enough for the reader to get it. There is an interesting section at the end of the books that discusses the issues and also further reading. I know this sounds vague, but it is part of the story and therefore I am not going to give away any spoilers.

The author has done another excellent job in creating a fabulous mystery story that I absolutely adored. I think this may just be my favourite one… so far. This is the 5th book in the series and yes it would work as a standalone, but I do think that reading in order is much better, as it is with many books in a series. It is one I would definitely recommend.

About the Author…

My relationship with New Orleans began with a job cooking in a cafe on Bourbon Street at the age of seventeen. My foodservice resume now includes many of New Orleans’ iconic music and dining destinations. I no longer reside in New Orleans full time but I keep to the expat creed of “Be a New Orleanian wherever you are.”
A devoted reader of detective and crime novels, I have worked as a chef on a boat traveling the inland waterways since Hurricane Katrina and began thinking up stories about a detective living in post-Katrina New Orleans, which I now write in my spare time.
My life is divided between working on the water and preserving a Victorian-era home in Hannibal, Missouri that I share with my wife and our rescue pets, which include a neurotic wolfhound/terrier mix and too many cats.

Links – Amazon Author Page US – Facebook

Here is the full series… and the link HERE

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