The Only Death That Matters (The 509 Crime Stories Book 9) by Colin Conway

The Only Death That Matters (The 509 Crime Stories Book 9) Reviews

• 
  Wiseask

  A detective in this book describes his life as safe and boring. He could have been describing the book itself. The Only Death That Matters takes no risks and offers no surprises. We know from the first page he appears who the villain is. The remainder of the book has no suspense and almost no action.
  
  A few notes about the book’s other flaws.
  
  First, despite the title, there is not only one death that matters in this book, there are three. The first death, without any evidence, is believed by a character who’s not a policeman to be a homicide, but it’s not. And yet it’s his mistaken belief that at least indirectly leads to the second death. The second death IS a homicide but the motive for the killing is unclear, unconvincing and frankly unnecessary. The killer commits his crime of first degree murder simply because someone is snooping around his perfectly legal businesses? The third death is also a homicide but there is no plausible reason for the killer to have committed it. Even the detectives concede that the case against the villain is “thin” (their word) — and that’s a gross understatement.
  
  Second, the author has the annoying habit of describing over and over what virtually all his characters are wearing, but none of the clothing combinations were germane to the story or to the characters. Finally, some of the physical movements of the characters were unusual if not unnatural. For example, a number of the characters shrugged with a single shoulder, though the common definition of shrug includes both shoulders.
  
  To his credit, the author does ask his readers to inform him of any mistakes in his text so he can correct them. I could find no more than three. But for the many reasons I have given in my review, it will take far more than correcting a few typographical or grammatical errors to make this a better book.
• 
  Bonnye Reed

  BookAdrenaline
  
• 
  Cathy Geha

  The Only Death that Matters by Colin Conway
  509 Crime Story #9
  
  Compelling, intriguing, and immersive – this book grabbed me and held me from beginning to end. This story was much more than I was expecting it would be an will have me contemplating some aspects of it for quite a while.
  
  What I liked:
  * Ray Christy: retired army 1st sergeant, devoted husband, father, grandfather, volunteer, curious, puzzle solver, stoic, good friend, has lost more than one loved one to death and disease…good man
  * Quin Delaney: Detective, divorced, perceptive, works well with his partner, sees the bigger picture, is feeling a bit at loose ends as he contemplates his future, works will with his work partner-Marci, wonder what his future holds in store for him
  * Marci Burkett: Quin’s work partner, tough, determined, seems to have a chip on her shoulder, have a feeling she has an interesting backstory, would like to see her in a book of her own
  * The plot, pacing, and way the story was written
  * The police procedural aspects of the story
  * The way the clues were found and where they led
  * The idea of age and how it impacts all of us…Ray is 72 in the story – I am 70…I could definitely relate too Ray and perhaps to some of the others in the story of his generation
  * Thinking about aging in general and how it impacts everyone differently
  * Family and how they can come together, how some process situations better than others, being thankful for my family
  * That I could easily hate the person who is found to be guilty
  * Knowing there will be more 509 Crime Stories to look forward too
  
  What I didn’t like:
  * Who and what I was meant not to like
  * Knowing that the story is probably more true that I would like it to be
  
  Did I enjoy this book? Yes
  Would I read more by this author? Definitely
  
  Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
  
  5 Stars
  
• 
  Doug Phillips

  Like the sensory vibe of just enjoying a great movie release or a RUSH album you've never heard, Colin Conway books are compelling and gritty without being excessive on the gratuitous sensationalism or trendy sub-genres.
  
  Despite having nagging responsibilities pulling me away from reading the book, I found myself picking up the Kindle again and again to see how Ray Christy, Quinn Delaney and the other characters developed within the story. Were there shocking cliffhangers or pages of gunplay descriptions? No. But that's not why you read Conway. That's because his style is to convey a bit more realism in what the reader would expect in the daily doings of a police department within a medium-sized city.
  
  After reading this work (actually my second from the author), I realize that I need to backtrack and enjoy books 1-8 in the series. If you are waiting to get to book 9 after reading the others, it's not necessary. This title worked just fine out of sequence.
  
  Pick it up. Thriller fans will read this and understand why there is only one death that matters.
• 
  Dawn

  Senior volunteer for the Spokane Police Department, Ray Christy, takes the report when a lost wallet is found at a restaurant. When he swings by to drop it off, he finds that the owner, Margaret Kelly, died by drowning - *before* the wallet was lost. Ray decides to investigate because no one else seems to be bothering to do so.
  
  This was a solid entry in the 509 series. If you like Quinn & Marci, you're in luck. They are the detectives that get involved when the case moves from needing a volunteer investigating to needing detectives.
  
  This book was a decent police procedural. I really liked the characters of Quinn & Marci when I read a previous work with them in it. It was nice to see the change and growth in them.
• 
  karin whitehead

  I received this novel from ARC. This is my review. This is about the retired service member at 72 is now a Senior volunteer mainly checking on homes of those on vacation, until he discovers a wallet. His instincts tell him to follow this case. As always Colin Conway gives a masterful read, fast read, great characters and a twisted storyline and an ending you are surprised with. A thoroughly great read!
• 
  Jean Gordon

  The author's idea of a mystery/ crime novel that shows the real lives of the police involved in solving it is great. BUT this book just got started and whoomp! it ended. Very unsatisfying read, there was no resolution to any conflict, "we'll let the DA deal with the case" (or similar verbage). The grieving family didn't even pretend to kiss and make up.
• 
  Black Butterfly

  RAY (super nice guy) A SENIOR CITIZEN VOLUNTEER WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DOES IT. MOST OF THE PEOPLE HE WORKS WITH ARE JUST PLAIN RUDE AND NASTY. I FOUND THE STORYLINE VERY SAD AND DEPRESSING, WITH CHARACTERS THAT WERE THE SAME. I HOPE QUINN FINDS SOME HAPPINESS ONE DAY. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK SOUNDED MORE INTERESTING THAN IT ACTUALLY WAS. ;<
• 
  Ruth

  A Real Surprise ...
  
  I read many mystery and police peocedural stories. I thought I could no longer be surprised ... But I was wrong!! Right in the middle of this story, i found myself saying Oh My God out loud! I couldn't believe this evt had caught me so unaware! Do recommend to anyone who wants a surprise!
  
  
  
• 
  Susan

  Firstly I would like to thank the Author for my ARC copy of this brilliant book. I knew when i started it i could not put it down until i had finished reading it. Definitely a five star book from me. I absolutely loved this book.
• 
  Suzanne

  A great read!
  
  So beautifully and sensitively written, I felt that I really knew the characters. This police procedural has everything to make a very satisfying read.
• 
  KH Khaw

  I expected Ray to be the protagonist in this book but it turned out to be my favourite pair of detectives of Quinn and Marcia. Good book
  
  Wonderful reread!!