The Rich and The Dead by Liv Spector

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The Rich and the Dead: A Novel

In exclusive Star Island, Miami, money and power can’t protect you… In collaboration with branding powerhouse Alloy Entertainment comes a thrilling new series featuring a former Miami PD detective on the hunt for a mass murderer, who must face the past she thought she left behind.

On New Year’s Day 2015, twelve powerful, wealthy people were found dead—shot in a lavish Star Island estate. In 2018, the murderer remains at large.

As a detective and lead investigator on the case of the century, Lila Day was consumed by her hunt for the Star Island Killer. But that was before she was pushed out from the force, and her life unraveled.

Years later, down on her luck and no longer a police officer, Lila is approached by mysterious billionaire Teddy Hawkins. He has a job for her, he says—solving the Star Island murders. Lila laughs. After all, how do you solve a crime when all the leads have long grown cold? The answer, Teddy tells her, is to be there before it happened. He is going to send her back in time.

With nothing left to lose, Lila travels back in time to 2014, determined to stop the Star Island killer once and for all. There’s one catch: she must gather the evidence to bring the murderer to justice in her own time, without trying to save anyone. Easy enough, until she starts to care for the people who are destined to die. Now Lila must be willing to say good-bye—or risk setting into motion events that could change the future forever.  (-synopsis)

The Rich and The Dead

The novel opens with Lila Day as a security guard in a hotel.   She runs to a room when she hears fighting and finds a woman unconscious.  She does as any former cop would and calls the police.  It’s this one act that gets her fired.  Ever since hunting down the Star Island killer and failing Lila has been on a path to nowhere.

When billionaire Teddy Hawkins has a proposition for Lila she is intrigued.  Unfortunately it turns out that he thinks he has a time machine and she leaves his house feeling defeated.  Then she gets home and discovers a newspaper from the future.  Realizing he must be telling the truth she goes back the next day.  Teddy convinces her to go back in time and solve the murder case before it happens.

Lila goes back to 2014 and becomes wealthy divorcee Camilla Dayton.   As a multimillionaire she’s easily able to fit in with the other millionaires in the Janis Club, the members that will be tragically murdered on New Year’s Day.   While Lila knows she’s there for a job she begins to truly like the people surrounding her.

Playgirl Effie takes Lila under her wing and shows her all of Star Island.  She introduces her to everyone Lila needs to know and even allows her to stay at her guest house.  While Lila knows something is off about Effie she truly begins to think of her as her friend.

Then there is the gorgeous Dylan.  The more she gets to know him the harder she falls.  Suddenly, being in the past doesn’t seem so bad.  In fact, she begins enjoying her new life as Camilla Dayton.  Unfortunately her time to solve the murders is running short and her top two suspects end up being dead ends.

Lila learns that everyone in the Janis Club has a secret and she’s determined to figure out what they are.   When she returns to the future she and Teddy begin to go over everything she learned in the past to solve the mystery of the murders.

The only problem is the murderer is something they would never guess.  Plus, the reason for the murders is almost as shocking as the murders themselves.  Will Lila and Teddy figure out who the killer is or will her trip back in time be a waste?

When I first started this book I thought it was far fetched and wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it.  While I love a good murder mystery, the time travel was a little much for me.  However, once Lila went back in time I was sucked into the book.  There were so many secrets to learn and Lila learned not only about the Janis Club members but about herself.  There were several huge twists in the book that made it hard for me to put down!

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.  

Buy this book on Amazon.

2 Comments

  1. I tend to agree that time travel mysteries are often more incredible than credible. But this one sounds like a fun take on the genre. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on it with us!

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