Locked In (Jessica Daniel #1) by Kerry Wilkinson



Solid first step by a self-published author who later went on to win himself a publishing contract

Published by Thomas and Mercer in 2013

Kerry Wilkinson has done what almost all of Amazon's self-published authors have dreamed of - he has published a Kindle e-book, outsold the established names and got the attention of mainstream publishing houses and won himself a publishing contract.

 And it all started with this book: Locked In. I read Locked In in paper form and found it to quite a good mystery. While this was not life-changing literature, I found it to be much better than the latest offerings that I have read by much more established authors such as Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson.

 Wilkinsin is helped by the fact that he was a working journalist (he recently quit in order to focus on being an author) so he has the ability to write for the everyday reader. His journalistic background helps with one of his main characters, a reporter for a local newspaper. His police characters are also solid and believable.

 The story revolves around two characters. The first is Jessica Daniel, a relatively new detective whose mentor has suddenly retired from law enforcement and refuses her calls. The other character is Gerry Ashford, a relatively clueless newspaper reporter who works for a slowly-dying newspaper and is getting the tips of a lifetime from an unknown source about a series of murders of people in their own homes. The houses have not been robbed, the doors are not broken, the windows are not jimmied and the doors have been locked behind the murderer, even doors that can only be locked by a key. Interestingly, all keys are accounted for so no can figure out how the murderer has gotten in and gotten out of the house.

 Disclosure: I was given an advance uncorrected proof copy of this book by the publisher through the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for an honest review.

 This is an enjoyable mystery. I rate it 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Locked In.

 Reviewed on May 11, 2013

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