Moving right along, aren't I? Are you impressed? Probably not. Well, technically this is mystery #3 since I read Cold Day in Paradise by Hamilton and Track of the Cat by Barr. However, since this is post #2 of my mystery challenge, I'll call it Mystery #2 as well.
I chose Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson for two reasons. Reason number one: it's considered a "cozy" mystery and I want to make this mystery challenge well-rounded. Reason number two: it's really short, at just 184 pages. Oh, don't look so surprised. I said I wasn't a huge reader...
This is the first book in the Victory O'Shea series. I really like Victory (Torie) O'Shea! She's sassy and nosy and clever. She's the Chief Historian at the Historical Society in a small town in Missouri. A local shop owner, Norah Zumwalt, hires Torie to trace her family tree. Norah has been trying to find her father, who disappeared during World War II, but whom she believes to be alive. Just as Torie finds some answers for her, Norah goes missing. Torie finds Norah's dead, murdered body in her home. As the murder investigation commences, it becomes clear that someone does not want Torie digging up family skeletons, and that the murder is somehow related to the information Torie has uncovered.
The plot moves, the characters are entertaining and believable, and the setting of a small town in Missouri is just perfect for the story. My only complaint is that I figured out "who done it" in the first third or so of the book. It was still entertaining to watch Torie uncover piece after piece, though.
So, next up: maybe a historical mystery, or maybe an international mystery. I had to return Black Echo by Connelly to the library when I was on page 82, so I might get back to that one. Then again I might not. I picked up Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters and Cover Her Face by P.D. James, but neither is really catching my interest on first scan. They seem kind of old and stuffy. Will Manley loved Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews...maybe that's a good option.
Suggestions?
Holly: I really like both P.D. James and Ruth Rendell, however the Ruth Rendell title that I was going to suggest, "Adam & Eve & Pinch Me", is described as a psychological thriller, so I'm not sure it would qualify for your challenge. Too bad -- it's really, really good in a weirdly creepy way!
ReplyDeleteSue L.
I HIGHLY recommend The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley for your next mystery. It's a hard hitting, gritty, graphic hard-boiled novel about some pretty nasty people doing some pretty nasty things. It's also exceptionally well written.
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