As 1958 nears its end, San Francisco is being terrorized by a man who calls himself the Fog City Strangler. Each victim is a pretty, young blonde woman between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, and the strangler claims credit for each murder by sending a note and a piece of the victim's clothing to the local newspapers. The police have almost no leads to go on, and appear to be absolutely baffled by a suspect who has proven that he's capable of just about anything.

Private eye Sam Slater is just as anxious as everyone else that this murderer is caught soon. He is convinced that his beautiful blonde wife, TWA stewardess Amelia Ryan, will become the Strangler's next victim. His anxiety is further fueled when TWA launches an advertising campaign with Amelia's picture on a series of billboards plastered all over the city. Sam fears the billboards may attract too much attention - the wrong kind of attention.

Meanwhile, Sam and Amelia are hired to try and find the missing daughter of a wealthy dowager who fears she has lost her only child. The missing woman went for a walk with her dog on Stinson Beach, near San Francisco, and seemingly vanished into thin air. The woman's husband arrived at the couple's beach house and found the dog running loose but there was no trace of his wife. After two months, the police are stumped in their investigation.

As Sam and Amelia continue to investigate the disappearance of the woman on the beach, they discover that this particular case is more convoluted than it seemed from first glance. Especially when - on a stormy night - a shadowy figure sets fire to the beach house where the couple is staying - hoping to stop their investigation...permanently.

I truly enjoyed this mystery. This was the first book by Greg Messel that I've ever read, and this was a standalone mystery - despite it being the fourth book in the Sam Slater Mysteries. The mystery - or should I say, mysteries - captured my attention right from the beginning. The characters were very well drawn - very true to the era in regards to attitude and speech - and I just had to find out how the story ended.

I must say that I found myself employing my various 'armchair detection' skills to solve each mystery. I had several of my own theories as regards to possible suspects, as well as ideas about what their potential motives might be. I wanted to keep reading to find out if my assumptions were correct.

I give Fog City Strangler by Greg Messel a definite A! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, and will certainly keep an eye open for the three previous books in the Sam Slater Mysteries Series - Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets.

I actually was hoping I may be able to put up this review on Wednesday, but as I finished reading this book rather late last night - some time after midnight, I think - I opted for posting the review a little later today. Oh well, good things come to those who wait, I suppose. :) ( )

In Fog City Strangler, the fourth book in the Sam Slater Mystery series, former baseball player turned private investigator Sam Slater is back with a new case to investigate. Sam and wife Amelia, a TWA stewardess are hired by a wealthy San Francisco dowager to find her missing daughter who disappeared while walking her dog on Stinson Beach. And to complicate matters even more, there is a serial killer calling himself the "Fog City Strangler," who preys on beautiful young blonde women, and leaves his calling card by sending a note and a piece of the victim's clothing to the local newspapers. Sam is worried that the serial killer will go after Amelia, his lovely blonde hair wife, who is featured on TWA's latest billboard campaign.

Author Greg Messel once again weaves another action packed tale of romance, mystery and suspense set in 1958 San Francisco. Written in the third person narrative, Sam and Amelia's latest riveting mystery adventure takes the reader on a thrilling ride with enough twists and turns that will keep them guessing. And if that isn't enough to whet your appetite, Sam and Amelia's marriage will be tested when the Fog City Strangler sets his sight on Amelia.

Of the four books in the series, this book is my favorite as the focus on Sam and Amelia's relationship is taken to the next level with their marriage and it is cleverly interwoven with the two mystery investigations. I loved the balance of mystery and romance that the author interweaves throughout the story. Fog City Strangler is rich in detail and vivid description of the authentic 1958 San Francisco time period. The author provides the reader with some really wonderful historical facts, statistics and pictures from that time period, you can't help but become captivated with the amount of interesting information that the author provides the reader throughout the story.

With a cast of characters who are interesting and draw the reader into their lives with their witty dialogue and dramatic interactions; and a riveting storyline that has enough intrigue, suspense, twist and turns, and a steamy romance that keeps the reader engaged and turning the pages, Fog City Strangler is one heck of an entertaining romantic mystery novel.

Fog City Strangler will captivate your imagination, while the mystery and will keep you guessing as you follow Sam and Amelia on their latest investigative adventure.

Fog City Strangler is the fourth book in the Sam Slater Mystery Series, but can be read as a stand alone story. The author does reference characters and storyline plots from the other three books in the series, but he interweaves them so smoothly that the reader won't get lost or feel like they have missed anything. However, I would recommend that you follow the sequence of the books in the series, because once you have been drawn into Sam Slater's latest investigative adventures, you will be hooked and want to follow him onto his next adventure!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Publicity Tours.

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