The Color Red is now available. Click here for sales information.
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly
The Color Red brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod. A Slovenian-born billionaire and his second wife are found dead, hanging side-by-side at their pool. Some say the man was giving away his fortune; others say he was once an oligarch. Who’s the killer? Old Soviet operatives? His butler, his son? Balkan relatives? Detective Ivy Bourque and her team encounter many suspects, but none of them have a motive. Why would someone kill a benevolent rich man without an apparent enemy in the world?
To preview THE COLOR RED, download the free teaser below.
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.”
The Color Red brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod. A Slovenian-born billionaire and his second wife are found dead, hanging side-by-side at their pool. Some say the man was giving away his fortune; others say he was once an oligarch. Who’s the killer? Old Soviet operatives? His butler, his son? Balkan relatives? Detective Ivy Bourque and her team encounter many suspects, but none of them have a motive. Why would someone kill a benevolent rich man without an apparent enemy in the world?
PurchaseTHE COLOR RED: Click here for information.
Kudos are coming in for The Color Red (Release Date: March 20, 2023). The Color Red brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod.
What critics and advance readers are saying:
“A smart, fast-paced mystery by a master craftsman of the genre who weaves complex ideas into a riveting storyline. Detective Bourque is one unique officer of the law, willing to ‘dance with the devil’ when need be.” ~ Lesley Choyce, author of The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil
“Potter is writing at the top of his form with the launch of his new detective series set in Cape Cod. Ancient Balkan grudges collide with no-nonsense Yankee detectives in this exceptionally well-written mystery.” ~ Caroline Woodward, author of Alaska Highway Two-Step
“The Color Red is a captivating eddy of old world and new, east and west, masculine and feminine, fed on a healthy menu of well-cooked dishes of revenge. Potter’s language is accurate and elegant, and his characters are on point. A superb read.” ~ S.M. Collins, author of To Be Human Again
“The Color Redopens with Detective Ivy Bourque encountering mysteries within a mystery. Is the case a double murder or murder suicide? What is the significance of the two dark neckties from which the victims are hanging? A maze of personal relationships complicates the investigation. But Bourque’s unquenchable curiosity helps her discover exactly what happened and the reasons behind it.” ~ Jim Poling Sr., author of Tecumseh: Shooting Star, Crouching Panther
“A winning read with fascinating suspects. Detective Bourque is wry, intelligent, and sympatico. What a great main character for a series.” ~ P. W. Tilley, Former RCMP Detective
“The Color Red stands out as a gripping, intelligent, and well-written detective story. An excellent start to what promises to be a must-read series.” ~ Jane Bwye, author of Breath of Africa
“A. M. Potter confirms his mastery of page-turner crime fiction. Detective Lieutenant Ivy Bourque arrives on a baffling Cape Cod scene that would ‘scare the scales off a salmon.’ Was it murder? Suicide? Both? Through multiple interlocking scenarios Bourque deploys her skills in connecting life in coastal and urban settings, complex individual and professional personalities, history, and culture to expose the perpetrators of the grim scene. The Color Red foretells a captivating new series.” ~ Bertrum MacDonald, Information Management Professor, Dalhousie University.
PurchaseThe Color Red: Click here for information.
The Color Red, Stark House. ISBN 979-8-88601-021-3
Review Text: Early in this impressive series launch from Potter, Ivy Bourque, of the Massachusetts State Police’s Cape & Islands Detective Unit, is called to the mansion of businessman Rollo Novak, originally from Slovenia. Novak, who made his billions funding startups, became a celebrity from his appearance on the popular reality show Angels or Devils; in the program, affluent entrepreneurs assess new ventures and decide whether to support them or take them over. His major-domo, a fellow Slav, called 911 after finding the naked bodies of Novak and his wife, Katrina Hayden, a former Miss USA, hanging from a stair rail by their swimming pool. The complex investigation includes many possible suspects, from disgruntled Angels or Devils contestants to someone connected to the Balkans’ bloody past. Potter makes Bourque, who gave up a career in organic chemistry to hunt killers, a credible lead readers will root for. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.
PurchaseThe Color Red: Click here for information.
Criminology studies show that many murder victims do something that leads to their deaths: e.g., they cheat, hoard money, or assault someone. In such cases, from one point-of-view, they trigger their own demises. They are accessories to their own murders – unwitting accessories.
“Accessories, AMP? How can you call them that? They didn’t conspire to kill themselves.” Agreed, they didn’t, not in the strict sense of the word. {Just to be clear: I am not an apologist for murderers. I don’t blame murder victims for their deaths. They were killed; they were not killers.} I’m expanding the meaning of the word accessory, bringing a new version to life – well, to death. Crime fiction approaches death directly. Homicide detectives don’t euphemize or obfuscate; they pursue the Grim Reaper with open eyes. They believe a person’s actions have consequences.
I’m with them. I don’t know if there’s life after death. I can’t say if there’s a heaven or hell. However, there’s one thing I’m sure of: What we do in life counts.
North Noir 