Katherine Carson, a former intelligence operative turned private detective, has never been in it for the money. But when a desperate CEO offers double her usual fee to find his missing daughter, she can’t refuse.

Set in Baltimore, 2009, what begins as a simple missing person inquiry transforms into a complex case of espionage, financial crime, and deep-seated grudges. For Katherine, this case strikes a personal chord, stirring up haunting memories from her own past. As unexpected connections emerge, she must confront her unresolved guilt.

Can Katherine and her team of private detectives solve the case before it’s too late, or will the turmoil of her past consume her?

The Scheme is the first book in the Carson Crime Files series by Amethyst Drake and follows a Private Detective team headed by former intelligence operative Katherine Carson.

In this first book, the team is approached by a rich CEO whose daughter, science student Olivia, has gone missing. Initially, the team believes that she has eloped with her boyfriend without telling her father but the more the team digs into her whereabouts the more they realise something is definitely off about her disappearance.

The Scheme is a short novel at just 210 pages and as such it is a fast-paced one as there is a lot to pack in. The chapters are short and snappy and the characters are realistic and mainly likeable too.

The plot revolves around the team trying to locate Olivia with a few secondary plots filtered in. It is believable for the most with a few far-fetched scenes, but who wants believable all the time!! My only tiny and I mean tiny criticism is that some of the characters are described in basic details such as ‘the tall, thin man’.

Overall, The Scheme is an enjoyable action/adventure mystery read that holds you to the pages. It is a great start to a new series and I now can’t wait to read book two.

Amethyst Drake is a passionate storyteller. She excels at crafting delightful characters and developing complex relationships among them. Her favorite genre has always been mystery, making it a natural choice for her writing. She aims to blend her personal experiences with mental health and the moral complexities of intricate interpersonal relationships into engaging novels.