Illusion of Death (Belinda Lawrence Murder Mystery #7) by Brian Kavanagh

Power. Envy. Greed. Lies. All surround amateur sleuths Belinda Lawrence and Hazel Whitby in this maze of personalities.

An invitation to a private screening at a film group involves them in more than the cinematic arts.

Murder and the search for a long-lost film, involve them in more hair-raising adventures as they begin to investigate each member of the group, all of whom could be potential murderers.

Belinda's skills are tested as she faces the greatest danger in her sleuthing life.   (Summary via Goodreads)



If you look at the back cover of Ilusion of Death by Brian Kavanagh, you will see a blurb from me....

"Brian Kavanagh knows how to capture the reader's attention and holding it from the first page until the last word !!  And the twists, turns and secrets that unfold will have the reader turning pages as fast as they can.  There are so many things going on that keep the reader focused and you cannot help but fall in love with everything surrounding Belinda, her friends and the things that she stumbles across." - Review by Missi S.  Cozy Mystery Book Reviews.

Illusion of Death is the seventh book in the Belinda Lawrence Murder Mystery series and I have had the pleasure of reading all of the books.  Therefore I am an invested and dedicated fan of Kavanagh and feel like Belinda and Hazel are like family.

If you've read any of these books you know that trouble seems to follow Belinda and Hazel around.  They seem to either attract or stumble across a dead body.....or two.  However in Illusion of Death Belinda and Hazel are house sitting for Belinda's parents in Mellbourne, her hometown, while her parents are on a cruise.  How can anything go wrong there ???

While Belinda is visiting the Austrialian Centre for the Moving Image, she runs into an old classmate, Bridie who invites her and Hazel to a screen of an old film .  She is a member of a small group of people, they call themselves the "Society", who get together at an older man's property where he has a building set up to show old reels of movies.  Little do the two know the craziness they are about to walk into.

While in the middle of the showing, one of the members storms in with blood on his hands saying that Max, the owner of the property, is in the main house dead !!  After a quick look around, Belinda and Hazel know that Max was not only dead but had been murdered.  This puts the ladies on high alert and even though they just met most of the people in the group, they start to wonder if they are guilty or innocent.

While Belinda and Hazel get to know the members of the "Society", they get themselves in hot water !!  Can they get themselves out before they become victims as well ???

Kavanagh will get a firm grip on your attention in this book and you will be unable to break free until you get to the end of the book.  There will come a part of the book where you will NOT want to stop reading.  You will NEED to get to the bottom of things and find out who killed Max.  Unravelling the secrets and long buried clues may seem like too much for you, but have no fear....when you are with Belinda and Hazel you are safe......plus I hope you are sitting on your comfy couch with a soothing beverage and your favorite snack.......


Review by Missi M.