Murder at Black Oaks

I just finished Murder at Black Oaks by Phillip Margolin A Robin Lockwood Novel (Book 6)

Robin, a brilliant lawyer and still reeling from the death of her fiance, is called to a meeting at the isolated home of Francis Melville, a former D.A with an impeccable record.
Black oaks is not without its tragedy and there are rumors that spiral around the manor, about a legendary curse.

Melville is in need of legal help he thinks Robin can help with. He once put a man, Jose, on death row for the murder of his girlfriend... Years later he finds out through attorney client privilege that the man he was representing actually killed Jose's girlfriend and the guilt is enough to eat any man alive. Once the man dies, Frank realizes he can work now to try and get Jose freed, but he needs Robin's help.

After getting Jose released, Melville invites the team and Jose up to black oaks to celebrate. When he is then found murdered with a knife, linked to the original curse, Robin has a mismatched group of suspects and limited time to find out whodunnit.

I actually didn't know this book was part of a series but it really didn't matter. It holds up exceptionally well as a standalone in my opinion. The book was a little on the busy side, a lot going on but it didn't take away from the enjoyability of the book. It has made me want to go back to the beginning and learn more about Robin because obviously the character building has been going on over a lot of books and I felt I did miss that a little bit.

I loved the location of the book and the little curse mixed in there was a lot of fun but it did seem a little incohesive with the storyline. I get what the author was trying to do but it didn't really mesh so well for me.

Great twisty turny book was with solid writing but it wasn't earth shattering. It was consistent and very entertaining.
I can see why it's a popular series and I will definitely read more from Robin Lockwood's continuing series.

4 stars. I would have given one more star had the book been more intense.

If you love a solid mystery that is excellently written, give this series a shot.

Thank you #netgalley and #StMartinsPress, #MinotaurBooks for my review copy