Guaranteed to Bleed is the second in this Country Club Murder mystery series. I found it to be a fun romp set in the 1970s. Even with it being set 40+ years ago, I found the story still relatable. Ellison is a strong heroine who doesn't take any flak, yet trouble still seems to find her. Overall I found the plot formulaic, but still interesting. 4 stars.

I am reading everything I can find by this author now. The book was well paced and I enjoyed the protagonist very much. Will be looking forward to more in this series.

Ellison Russell is at a high school football game - and she doesn't want to be when she drops her lipstick under the bleachers. She is not going to lose that lipstick so even though she doesn't want to, she goes under the bleachers to retrieve it. Under the bleachers, she finds a dying teenage boy and he makes her promise to give a message to his girlfriend. In trying to find out who the girlfriend is, she uncovers the murder plot.

Guaranteed to Bleed (The Country Club Murders #2)
by Julie Mulhern (Goodreads Author)
Paperback, 268 pages
Published October 13th 2015 by Henery Press



Goodreads synopsis:
With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, “Tell her I love her.”

Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way.

Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly-rebellious daughter is missing, and there’s yet another body in her hostas. Mother won’t be pleased.

Now Ellison must track down not one but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby and elude the killer—all before her next charity gala committee meeting.

***

5 stars

Having loved book one and rating it five stars, I was immediately drawn to tackle book two. I was intrigued by Ellison and Anarchy’s relationship. So I had to read book two as soon as I could get my hands in it.

Under the bleachers at a high school game, Ellison finds the body of a boy who has been friends with her daughter, Grace, for a long time. Before he dies, he mutters “Tell her I love her.”

Grace is much more front stage for this book as she brings home a new friend Dona and the two go on a wild adventure together… without Ellison’s permission. Ellison splits her time between trying to figure out who Bobby’s special love was and trying to track down her daughter. All the while she tries to stay in town to answer Anarchy’s multitude of questions.

This is definitely another winning story. I can’t recommend this series highly enough. This was a full-fledged speed read as I had to find out what was really going on. Great flow and fully created characters. Just excellent all around.

If you love all those cop shows from the 70’s, cop shows in general or anything that is mystery related. You will love this. Check it out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, “Tell her I love her.”

Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way.

Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly rebellious daughter is missing, and there’s yet another body in her hostas. Mother won’t be pleased.

Now Ellison must track down not one but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby and elude the killer—all before her next charity gala committee meeting.

Julie Mulhern has carved her own way into our hearts, with her 1970's Country Club murder mysteries. Where flares and plaid are all the rage. And where the Country Club set have their own rules and etiquette. Just try not to die in the hostas!

Another Great read. Well plotted and written, with a great set of characters. This is one series not to be missed!

Guaranteed to Bleed, by Julie Mulhern, is the second of her Country Club Murders mystery series. It is the fall of 1974 and Kansas City socialite Ellison Russell has recently returned from a summer in Southern Europe, a summer to rest and recuperate from the occurrences of early summer when she was widowed, a murder suspect, and almost a murder victim.

Returning home, Ellison expected her daughter to be reunited with lifelong friends who would support her grieving process. Instead, one of her childhood friends is murdered and Ellison is the one to come upon the young man as he lay bleeding. His last words ask Ellison to "tell her I love her," but Ellison doesn't know who she is, or who would do this to Bobby.

Ellison is reintroduced to Detective Anarchy Jones and again represented by Hunter Tafft. In the course of the investigation, Ellison must deal with an unexpected house guest, runaway teenagers, and an attempted break in that results in a body in the hostas shot by an unknown assailant that escapes over the fence.

A woman ahead of her time, Ellison is strong, self supporting, and figuring out how to establish herself in a world quite different than today. She has a strong sense of fairness and seeks to fulfill Bobby's final wishes as well as balance the needs of her daughter, her houseguest, and the law.

Following the stellar work in Ms. Mulhern's first book in this series, The Deep End, this book is equally well written and has the same level of intricate plot and rich characters. I highly recommend this book and this series

Given that this book is part of the Country Club Murder series, I should probably not be surprised that so many of the characters were completely insufferable. Ellison, the main character, is pathetic. She has no backbone. Ellison is constantly bossed around by her mother, who is mostly concerned with keeping up appearances. Ellison acts like a pill towards the lawyer her mother wants her to date (who actually seems like a decent guy). I think I was meant to dislike Ellison's mother, but I thought she was great. Ellison's mom gets stuff done. Ellison is unable to accomplish anything; at least her mother isn't all wishy-washy. This book was set in the 1970s, and I'm not really sure why. The seventies setting didn't seem to be essential or really add anything to the plot. So, I'm not really sure why.