Book Review: Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern

With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, "Tell her I love her." Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way. Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly rebellious daughter is missing, and there's yet another body in her hostas. Mother won't be pleased.

Now Ellison must track down not one, but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby, and elude the killer - all before her next charity gala committee meeting.[summary via Amazon]

In the second book in the Country Club Murders, Ellison Russell and her daughter, Grace, are piecing their lives together after the death of Henry, Ellison's cheating husband and Grace's father. When Ellison stumbles across an injured and almost-dead high schooler, Bobby Lowell, at a football game, she's thrown headlong into another mystery. Ellison must try to find the girl Bobby loved, and try to find a murderer too!

I absolutely devoured Guaranteed to Bleed. I finished it in less than a day. This juicy, fast-paced mystery was simply fantastic. I really enjoyed the first book, The Deep End, but this second book was even better. As the reader, we already know most of the main characters, and Julie Mulhern has added extra depth to them, as their story continues.

I love the setting of this series - the elite country club, with lots of juicy secrets, and everyone wants to know all the secrets! However, it seems Ellison knows most of the secrets and she has to work to keep them to herself.

Ellison is a very complex and interesting character. She's deeply hurt by the actions of her late husband, and definitely not ready to thaw out her heart and move on. Although it's clear when she does move on she has two men waiting in the wings. In the form of Detective Anarchy Jones (isn't that the best name?) and family lawyer, Hunter Tafft. 

The mystery was complex and interesting. I like how little side stories were woven into the main mystery, and it kept me flipping pages faster and faster.

Guaranteed to Bleed is simply delicious, and full of tantalizing gossip and drama, and I'm excited to find out what is ahead for Ellison, her love life, and further mystery and mayhem.