Well, Jere Myles, with the second book in his Murder Mysteries series, got me totally fooled. I was sure of only two things at the end of book 1, that I liked very much Mieko and Jon's characters and that I was sad to see them gone so soon. Actually nor Mieko or Jon were really gone, Mieko in particular, even if already dead at the beginning of the story, was one of the main character of the novel. His words and his love for Jon were the fuel for Jon and all the people who believed in him. Murder Behind Closed Doors start were Murder at the Pier ended, with the Murder at the Pier of a lonely runner. It's strange, the title of both books refers to the last episode that happens in each of them, the murder of the first book at the Pier is the last scene of that book and we really don't know what happened if not in the second book, and the murder behind closed doors is a possible murder that will take place in book 2, and again, we will probably don't know the killer and the victim if not in book 3. It's like a chain, a ring at the end of the first book links the second, and so the second with the third. As it happened with book 1, I'm expecting to have some surprises in book 3, what I believe to have understood of Murder Behind Closed Doors it's not probably all right, I suppose.
Probably Murder Behind Closed Doors is more simple than Murder at the Pier. The characters are not new, and so we are already acquainted with them. The story flows also in a more "normal" pattern, there are fewer flashback than in the previous book, and in a way, book 2 serves to the reader to answer a lot of the unanswered questions from book 1. If you are thinking that I'm not enough clear, that I'm not giving enough clear statement, it's since I can't really give you the answer, otherwise I will give up entirely the meaning of Murder Behind Closed Door.
On comparison to book 1, Murder Behind Closed Doors ends with less open points: I think it's right, since book 3 will be the final book in the series, and so probably the author is preparing the readers for their last story. Other than answer to some question, book 2 changed also the perspective the reader had on some character from book 1: Rich and Tony, for example, I was sure they would have been main characters in Murder Behind Closed Doors, and it's like that, but I was totally wrong on their role in this story.
In the end, I think that, if the author's purpose was to entice enough the reader to continue to follow this series, he plenty reached it; I, for once, am not sure of what will be the wrapping up of the story, above all since, what I believed for book 2 was not right, and so now, I don't dare to suppose anything for the third and last mystery.
Amazon: Murder Behind Closed Doors
Amazon Kindle: Murder Behind Closed Doors
Series: A Murder Mystery
1) Murder at the Pier: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/666029.html
2) Murder Behind Closed Door
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035