Reviewed by me for Reader’s Favorite.

Ron Stock’s Sonja is one of the most glamorous murder mysteries that I have read so far. A model, who goes by the name Di, was found dead at her apartment. The stench in the apartment and the severely deteriorated condition of the corpse suggested that she died days before being discovered. In fact, it was the sickening smell that indicated something was not right in Di’s apartment. Everything in the flat screamed natural death; however, detective Shane Hanley had a job to perform and he could not rule out a probable homicide until his investigation was complete. Although the Di’s condition was so bad that nobody in their right mind would have suspected her to be a model, Shane was bound by duty. When he checked Di’s cell phone, he was astonished to see his best friend Jonas’ number in her outgoing messages. In order to save Jonas from being implicated in this murder, he quickly deleted the text message that Di had sent to him. As the investigation moved forward, many high profile names begin appearing in the list of suspects, including Sonja, Jonas’ wife and a well-known model.

Since the center of the plot is the murder of a model, the plot is undoubtedly packed with glamor. Various aspects of modeling world are presented in all their glory. Sonja and Di both started their modeling career from very small towns, but the way they handled the stardom and fame was very different. People try to make sexual advances to the innocent guys and girls in exchange for a chance to be starred in big campaigns and movies and same happened with Sonja as well as Di. How they reacted to such advances has been quite intriguing to read. There is nothing that I did not like about this book. I loved the impeccable writing style of Ron Stock, the tasteful dialogues of the characters, the believable plot, and above all the story-telling. The author created a mystery that never bored me. He presented the pasts of the characters in such a fine style that I connected and understood them. I believed the characters and understood their actions. If I were in their shoes, I would have acted the same way; the moment this thought pops into my mind, I know that I am in love with the book in my hands,

I had watched a Bollywood movie, Fashion, and it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Ron Stock’s Sonja reminded me of that masterpiece. Like the leading ladies of Fashion, Sonja and Di, too, lost themselves in the race of stardom and fame. When the offers stopped coming their way, they got desperate and foolish. Fashion was not a murder mystery but the level of truth that was presented in the movie was on the same lines as Sonja. Time flew while reading this book and I could not put it down once I picked it up.

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