Originally Published on Destiny’s Magical Creations
Blurb: A captivating crime thriller full of plot twists, suspense, dark secrets, and charming characters with wondering minds.
Featured Quote: “Well, the lily alone represents innocence, purity, and beauty. And some say, in death, it’s a symbol of the innocence that has been restored to the soul of the departed.”
The Purple Lily is a page-turning crime thriller with mystery and romance entwined into the story’s plot. A fast-paced enchanting, creepy, mind-blowing novel that will keep your eyes glued to the page. The story begins with a mysterious man hiking in Elliot State Forest. He places his eyes on a young couple camping; he slowly approaches them to ask for directions as he had scurried off his hiking trail. The stranger begins to have a discussion with Beth while her husband, David, grabs his backpack to assist the abnormal man. While chatting with the couple, the uncanny stranger begins thinking dark thoughts about killing the campers. David ponders with his wife debating if he should help the man because of the haunting look in the stranger’s eyes. Beth tells her husband to show him the way out. Then, they will pack up their campsite and leave as well, but neither of them could have guessed what the stranger would do to them. A voice inside the mysterious man’s head took over his body and mind as he fiercely planned and executed the murder of Beth and David. The descriptive language used by the authors to evoke the character’s ability to breathe, the slicing of the neck, and the blood dripping out to create fast heartbeats, goosebumps on your skin, cringe in your stomach reaction when you read each word, painting a realistic horror scene and sets the mood and suspense in the story.
The crime thriller’s story plot is shaped by two strong, fierce female characters, Charlotte Romano and Daniella Keezer. Charlotte Romano is a bestselling author who decides to move to Oregon with her partner, Tanya, to write her next novel. Detective Daniella Keezer and her police partner Crystal Allen received a call from dispatch regarding a homicide in Elliott Forest. When they arrive on the scene, it is flooded with detectives, park rangers, and CSI. The detectives follow Reese down a trail toward a shallow pond. When they found a woman’s body, CSI personnel were lathering through the water, looking for evidence. Dental records identified the woman as Beth, who was murdered along with her husband, David, a year ago during labor day weekend. The case went unsolved because of the lack of evidence, but now Danielle is determined to solve it, but another person is interested in this cold case. Author Charlotte wants to use the cold case to write her next murder mystery novel. With the permission of the police captain and Charlotte’s literacy agency, she can gain access to the case to write her story and be another set of eyes to help Danielle see the investigation from another perspective.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that a writer is helping a detective solve a case. In some areas of the book, it feels like the story is being written as Charlotte types out her thoughts while putting her book together. This brings a unique aspect to the mystery novel. I also enjoyed reading about Charlotte’s book signing at the bookstore because there was a surprise guest, Grant Dolan. Grant Dolan is another dynamic character to keep your eyes on. He is an architect and designer at his firm, D & L Architecture, but he carries dark secrets. Grant Nolan may act like a flirtatious millionaire bachelor, but evil lives inside his mind and bones.
Another noteworthy aspect of the book is that the author’s word choice to describe the psyche of the killer is innovative and artistic to give the reader clues that the mysterious man from the beginning of the book might be someone who is both close to Detective Danielle and Charlotte. Each of the characters are strongly developed with their own personalities and characteristics. Their actions and dialogue in the story feel realistic, especially the details of the crime scenes and procedures in the police station. An author always needs to create characters that readers can connect to, so they can be invested in the storyline. Still, with a crime thriller, details need to be more fierce because you must tell the readers about the killer’s actions and what police see when investigating. As a writer working on a mystery story, I admire their ability to create realistic, creepy, bloody, suspenseful scenes. The only aspect of the story that was not my cup of tea was the explicit language and sexual content. Other than that, it is a must-read murder mystery book. I loved reading this story and the ending I never saw coming.
The Purple Lily is a thought-provoking, suspenseful psychological crime thriller that is creative and well-written with a symbolic book title and cover design. If you enjoy reading mysteries that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you must add The Purple Lily to your TBR list.
Happy Reading!
Functionally Fictional 
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