A Special Interest in Murder - (ADA Latia Mystery) by Mette Ivie Harrison

Book Synopsis

A brilliant neurodivergent female sleuth colliding with an FBI agent with a secret. A crime that is not all it seems. A page-turning, red-herring-filled murder mystery, perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.

"A clever series kickoff featuring a sleuth who opens the often misunderstood world of autism to a wider audience" - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

Ada Latia is twenty-four years old. She used to be the youngest millionaire in the cosmetics industry. She used to be married. Now, she spends her time studying ways to communicate with aliens. After all, aliens could not possibly be more cruel or deceitful than other humans.

Ada's spiteful ex-husband Rex believes autistic people like her are monsters, so she's not surprised when he calls her to share a clickbait article gleefully shouting that one autistic child has killed another at a special school in Idaho.

Rex just means to hurt her, but when Ada reads the article, it's not the lies about autism being fake that catch her eye: it's a disturbing photograph of the dead child. The image of the girl is perfect - too perfect. As if someone has committed a murder, and then carefully staged the scene to cover it up.

Ada reports her suspicions to the FBI, and the case crosses the desk of her old classmate Henry Bloodstone, who invites her to assist him. Ada's not a trained investigator. It's painful for her to come up against situations she's not an expert in. She barely remembers Henry, even though it's clear that he remembers her. But the death is a mystery - and Ada, who counts murder as one of her special interests, has never learned to let a mystery go.

Review Quotes

[Harrison] movingly highlights the ways in which Ada's neurodivergence serves as a sleuthing strength . . . Readers will be charmed-- "Publishers Weekly"

A clever series kickoff featuring a sleuth who opens the often misunderstood world of autism to a wider audience-- "Kirkus Reviews Starred Review"

An extremely smart and refreshingly imperfect series lead-- "Booklist on His Right Hand"

Exceptional-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Not of This Fold"

Highly recommended-- "Library Journal on For Time and All Eternities"

Outstanding-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of His Right Hand"

Readers of Betty Webb's books may want to try this series-- "Library Journal on The Prodigal Daughter"

Suspenseful . . . Those looking for a nuanced character study will be well rewarded-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Prodigal Daughter"

This well-plotted story gives readers a good sense of how autism affects daily life (the author herself is autistic) in addition to being a compelling mystery-- "Booklist"

Thought-provoking . . . Powerful and personal-- "Publishers Weekly on For Time and All Eternities"