Camarin Torres, investigative journalist. Or at least that was the dream. She wanted to 
make a difference, be a champion for the underdog, and yet with university just a few weeks from over, she was the only person without a job lined up. That was until fate intervened with an unexpected encounter. But still, she had a vision of her future, and Trend, the guilt pumping, judgemental, you are how you look, magazine was so far from who she was and what she stood for. But it was a job, and the new owner seemed intent on remaking the image into something she could align herself with. In her own time she works on her story, the Blubber Be Gone murder, determined to expose the killer and give them a voice, little does she know how dangerous a path she walks.
Slashing Mona Lisa is a well conceived, well constructed, murder mystery by D.M. Barr. Be prepared to be taken on an emotional journey of haters, shamers, and murder. You meet Camarin, and soon are rewarded with a deep insight into her character and motivations, the characters are as vivid as they are unique, from the cockney speaking Rachel, to the sassy room mates struggling to make rent. There is no end to the thrills in this book. The investigation is beautifully scripted, creating tension, danger and, with more and more bodies being discovered the deeper Camarin digs, urgency. This is one book you will not want to put down, you will find yourself wanting to see what happens next. Romance, love, danger, suspicions, murder, and mystery, all combined in one hell of a tale that also serves to make you more aware of the intolerances this world displays, and maybe, just maybe, realise the extent to which your own actions can affect others. A clear message in a gripping story.
Book link:
K.J's Athenaeum 