Greetings! There are a couple of new books coming out next week. They are: Single Malt Murder by Melinda Mullet, If Not for You by Debbie Macomber, The Hope Chest by Viola Shipman, Dying on the Vine by Marla Cooper, Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister, and Shipyard Girls at War by Nancy Revell. I will be reviewing all of them.
Murder at the Fortune Teller’s Table by Janet Finsilver is third book in A Kelly Jackson Mystery series. Kelly Jackson is the manager of the Redwood
Cove Bed-and-Breakfast in Redwood Cove, California. Kelly is attending the local school’s annual
fundraiser (and get to know your school event).
She notices a woman come away from the fortune teller’s booth very upset
and leaning on the arm of her son. The
woman Amy “Summer” Winter later approaches Kelly and asks for a meeting with
the Silver Sentinels. At the meeting,
Summer explains that she needs two people found that she has not seen since 1967. Summer is able provides the group with the names,
Diane Morgan and Ken Nelsen, but no further usable information (not even why
she is looking for them). With a little
computer sleuthing, the group is able to give Summer current addresses of Diane
and Ken. It turns out that Mark, Summer’s
son, is not her biological child. Mark is ill and needs a donor. After Auntie, the Greek fortune teller, saw
the evil eye and stated that someone will die, Summer felt the need to urgently
contact Mark’s biological parents for assistance. Kelly arranges for Ken Nelsen, his family and
Diane to get a free weekend at the B and B courtesy of an anonymous benefactor. Summer does not want them to know it is her
until after they arrive. They just have
to agree to a meeting with the benefactor. The next day Mary is attacked in her
home, and it is blamed on the Lunch Thief that has been plaguing the area. But then Summer and Auntie (the fortune
teller) are found dead in Auntie’s home.
The Silver Sentinels do not agree with the police ruling on the cause of
death and start seeking answers. The
killer does not appreciate Kelly’s pursuit of answers and sets out to stop
her.
Murder at the Fortune Teller’s Table is an easy to read book that is nicely written. I like the characters, though, I wish there
were not so many of them. I do admit
that it is hard to keep track of all the various characters. There is Kelly, the Silver Sentinels, the
staff of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, Helen’s son, the dog, plus others
(from a sister B&B and townspeople).
It was nice to see some growth in Kelly’s character at the end of the
novel. I give Murder at the Fortune Teller’s Table 3.5 out of 5 stars. I
thought the mystery was interesting, and I do not believe that all readers will
be able to identify the perpetrator. I
picked out the person I thought was the culprit and then read to see if I was
right. The mystery has several suspects and any one of them could easily be the
killer. Then there is the mystery of the
Lunch Time thief. He only attacks homes
during the week at lunch time. I did
appreciate how everything was wrapped up in the end. There was one more storyline included in this
book that I found captivating. It is how
dogs are being trained to help veterans with PTSD. Michael Corrigan, owner of Resorts
International, is setting up a facility to help veterans. It is amazing what dogs are capable of with a
little training. There is also a dog (a
Chihuahua) trained to help a hearing-impaired woman. While Murder at the Fortune Teller’s Table is
the third book in the series, it can be read alone. All the necessary background information is
provided. Each book in the series is better than the last (I liked this one
better than the previous two). I will be
reading the next book in A Kelly Jackson Mystery series. The first two books in the series are Murder at Redwood Cove and Murder at the Mansion.
I hope all of you have a exceptional day. During this cold weather, it is a good time to stay inside with hot chocolate, a cuddly blanket, and a good book. I am currently reading Murder is No Accident by A.H. Gabhart (I got behind on my reading thanks to terrible migraines). I will see you when I return tomorrow. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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