A Panicked Premonition
Victoria Laurie     
December 2021 Releases

Contemporary
Historical
Mystery

Links


Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Psychic Eye
Book: 15

In New York Times bestselling author Victoria Laurie’s newest Psychic Eye mystery, Abby Cooper has one rule to follow: don’t panic!

Professional psychic and FBI consultant Abby Cooper has used her inner visions to get her out of many a scrape—and solve many a crime—but she’s about to face a murder scene that will put all her powers to the test. Abby’s husband Dutch has a side business providing security and building panic rooms for wealthy clients. One morning, one of Dutch’s partners, Dave, goes missing on his way to meet a client. Abby’s intuition tells her something terrible has happened to him.
 
Then two of Dutch’s clients are found brutally murdered...inside their brand new panic room, and most of the evidence points to Dave as the killer.  With the authorities racing to find and arrest him, Abby's got to use all her intuitive prowess to get to Dave first, discover the real killer, and save her husband's business. This is one case where Abby is positive there’s far more to this mystery than meets her inner eye…

Abby Cooper is a professional psychic who uses her abilities to do readings for her clients and also for crime-solving when she consults with the FBI. Her husband Dutch is an FBI agent and has a new side business with their friend Dave installing panic rooms for a wealthy clientele. Things are looking up for couple, but it seems things were too good to be true. Now Abby and Dutch's good friend Dave is missing and becomes the prime suspect when two of Dutch and Dave's clients are murdered. Abby has to use all of her investigative and psychic abilities to find Dave and prove his innocence to save his life and Dutch’s business.

I followed this series in the beginning, but haven't read all of the most recent books. A little disbelief must be suspended with Abby and her best friend Candice playing such a large role in the FBI investigations with Dutch and his best friend, who is also an FBI agent and Candice’s husband. The best part of this book and the entire series is watching Abby use her psychic abilities, with her clients to tell them things about their life or to find clues in solving a case. Abby is smart, quirky, and uses her intelligence along with her intuition when investigating. She and Candice make a good team and in this book, both work well with the detective officially assigned to the case, Nikki Grayson. I wouldn't mind seeing Nikki in future books. She knows how to mix going by the rules with open-mindedness to work toward solving the case, and she is a good complement to both Abby and Candice.

There are a few downsides to the book. Abby's confidence can sometimes come across as conceit, and all the talk about her new healthy diet and workout regimen takes away from the case. There are also several instances of strong language that seem forced and don't add anything to the story. Overall, I like the book and enjoy Abby's flip sense of humor and the way the case was resolved in the end. Fans of the series will enjoy the latest Psychic Eye mystery.

~ Christine