Review for Bird of Prey by Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Title –   Bird Of Prey

Series – Sémya Slotin Mystery #1

Author – Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Genre – Mystery Romance

Publication Date – November 25^th 2013

Publisher – Ever After Edition

Cover Artist – Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Book Blurb/Synopsis –

This was supposed to be an easy case…

Sémya Slotin had spent the last three years living in London with her best friend Polliannah Koch staying away from solving cases. After Hawaii, she was taking a break from puzzles, cases and mysteries that could potentially get her killed.  Instead, she had been doing her second and third favorite things, drinking and selling expensive vintage wines and having earthshattering sex with the mysterious, sexy, beautiful but ever so secretive Josh Heinz. Life in London was good….until her funds ran out. Too much wine drinking, not enough wine selling!

When fashion designer and adoptive mother, Annika Slotin, summoned her back to Paris to hire her for what Sémya considered being the easiest case of her amateur sleuth career, all she could think of and seeing was money signs and a well-deserved Cuban holiday once it was solved.

What Sémya didn’t see was her stumbling on the fresh corpse of supermodel Johanna Cartier. She didn’t think that male model turned fashion designer Julian Marais-Caldwin, who also happened to be Sémya’s ex, would be suspected of brutally murdering her. Johanna was his girlfriend, his muse and he loved her. Sémya didn’t see the dead bodies piling up or the conspiracy theories.

 Sémya was a little rusty. But then again, it was supposed to be an easy case and she was going to solve it.  One vintage wine at a time… Sémya Slotin was officially back in business!

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THE REVIEW:

This book captivated me from the very beginning!!

Semya Slotin lives with her best friend Pollianna Koch in London, and when she gets a call from her mother about a case, she reluctantly goes.  She and her mother are at odds, but she needs the money, and she refuses to take it from Josh Heinz, her friend with benefits.  

Her mother is a fashion designer, and former mode Annika Slotin.  Someone is stealing her sketches and sending them to her ex Julian Marias-Caldwin.  Annika hires Semya, who is an amatuer slueth with a criminology degree, to find out who is responsible. Since Semya has a pretty good idea who is doing it, she believes the case is going to be easy money for her and her roommate.  Then she can get back to drinking and running her high priced wine business.  

Little does she know, this is not as easy as she thought it to be.  At the same time, she's trying to figure out with Josh is keeping from her.  She's been with him for three years, and knows almost nothing about it.  Whenever she asks him, he always changes the subject to something else.  

When Semya is faced with the murder case of supermodel Joanna Cartier, she discovers some interesting things about the model herself.  Honestly, this book had me guessing right to the end.  I guessed who the killer was, but was totally wrong on how she was related to Joanna.  Honestly, I think Semya would be a great profiler or cop!!  She has the mind of a cop, but she loves her freestyle life of living with very little responsibility.  

Also, I'm curious about Josh.  He is hiding something from her, and I am really wanting to know more about him!  He has resources normal men don't have, and is able to get information easier then most. It drives her crazy that he keeps who he really is from her, but he makes it clear that it is necessary.  It also helps that he's gorgeous and smexy.  Plus, he loves Semya more then anything, and would do pretty much anything for her.  Even if that means seeing her help out her ex.

I really loved this book!!  It had me guessing right up until the end.  I can't wait to read the next case Semya is going to solve!!!

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THE AUTHOR:

I was born in Quebec City, Canada from Gabonese parents but grew up in Paris and Libreville the Gabonese capital until the age of 18. Are you yawning yet? I am... 

French is my first language and my next novel Bird Of Prey will be released in both languages...wish me luck!

I moved back to Canada in 1999 after high school in Libreville to study Cinematography and Digital movie production in Laval University in Quebec then The International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto. After graduating in 2003, I decided to sell my soul to the corporate world and worked in the Benefit Outsourcing Industry for seven in Toronto before reconnecting with her first passion writing. 

I finally went back to school to study creative writing at Georges Brown College in 2010 and 2011. I started to write The Coulda Woulda Shoulda Series as an assignment and finished Book One in late 2011 before moving to London. 

And the rest as they say is history... Almost two years later, I'm in London and wrote three novels. One has already been released This Could Have Been Our Song! A coulda woulda shoulda ballad... (Book one) the other two will be released by March 2014.

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