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A Pointed Death is a very well written, compelling mystery that brings together murder, corporate intrigue, bioscience, and one truly fine pointer dog named Skootch. In the interest of full disclosure, I must reveal that the author was kind enough to provide me with a copy of her book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I must also state that I have never given a five star rating to a first time author with a self published novel. This one is truly deserving. <br /><br />I started this book with much trepidation. I know nothing about the biotechnology business or finance, two areas that play a large role in this story. For the first thirty pages or so, I was feeling a bit lost as the author seemed to be providing me with too much information. It wasn't long however until her characters of Nola, Janie Belle, and of course Skootch had me completely invested in the story. When Nola discovered a headless body that just happened to belong to a disgraced ex-employee, I was intrigued. When she met Harrison, fraud detective with caramel eyes, I was even more intrigued. When she started playing amateur sleuth and began discovering all the intricate threads that connected into a very ugly web of corporate and international crime I was totally hooked. <br /><br />The author has a very readable writing style that flows well. She infuses her story with quite a bit of humour, often provided by Skootch the totally lovable dog. Nola is a fierce middle aged woman, often despairing of her current situations, but ever confident in her own abilities. She's a great character; a woman of intelligence and talent who steadfastly refuses to take herself too seriously. Her relationship with Harrison was very nicely portrayed in a way that added further unexpected depth to Nola's character. <br /><br />The author obviously loves San Francisco as she includes a lot of descriptions of the city and it's surroundings. I was initially a bit put off by this, but soon came to appreciate the role the city played in the story. Her descriptions are so well done she has essentially created another character. By the end, I felt that I had actually been there. <br /><br />As with all mysteries, in the end, the plot is the thing, and that is perhaps what surprised me most about this book. It is just expertly paced and plotted. There were no gaping holes of implausibility, no chapters that should have been left out or repetition of facts, or any of those other elements that often plague first time writers. This is a great example of mystery storytelling. I now know a bit more about finance, biotech, San Francisco, Episcopal Church Services, and Pointer Dogs. I was also late for work and fixed my kids frozen pizza for dinner so I could finish this up and find out how it ended! The author states in her final acknowledgements that this is a "silly escapist book". Perhaps I will only add that this is in fact a thinking person's escapist book. It was a fun ride and one that I would recommend to any mystery lover.<br /><br />Reviewed by J. Prather