It's Friday! Congrats on making it through another week! Cindy Woodsmall's Gathering the Threads will be be published on August 15. It is the third book The Amish of Summer Grove series. The publisher is giving readers an opportunity to download and read the first chapter of Gathering the Threads. Click here to go to the Waterbrook Multnomah site for the download link.
Walking on My Grave by Carolyn Hart is the twenty-sixth (and last) novel in A Death on Demand Mystery series. When Rufus Roundtree passed away
a year ago, he left his fortune to his sister, Ves. Upon Ves’ death the money will pass to six
heirs listed in the will. Four of the
heirs need money and would like some of their inheritance now. Ves has no intention of parting with the
money and as she is only in her 40s, Ves expects to live a long life. On the one year anniversary of Rufus’ death,
Ves holds a dinner at her home. She
invites the six heirs—Curt Roundtree, Bob and Katherine Farley, Jane Wilson,
Fred Butler, Adam Nash—along with Gretchen Roundtree (Curt’s mother) and Tim
Holt (Jane’s boyfriend). When Jane
brings in the dessert she feels a cold chill—like someone is walking on her
grave—and knows that someone wishes to kill her. A few days later, Ves limps into Death on
Demand to speak with Annie Darling. Ves
confides that someone tried to killer her.
Ves confronts the heirs with Max Darling present hoping to find the
culprit. Fred Butler disappears and is
discovered by a fisherman in the harbor.
When Ves fails to show up at a meeting, Annie and Police Chief Bill
Cameron go to her house. They find blood
smears along with her purse, but they find no sign of Ves. Did the killer get to Ves? Annie, Max and their friends work together to
find the guilty party before he strikes again.
Will they succeed?
Walking on My Grave will appeal
to the fans of A Death on Demand Mystery series. If you are new to the series, I suggest
starting with Death on Demand (first book).
Walking on My Grave is easy to read and has interesting main characters
(Annie and Max Darling). It was nice to
revisit Broward’s Rock and the delightful characters in this series. I would love to visit Annie’s bookstore Death
on Demand. It would be paradise to visit
a bookstore filled with just mystery novels.
I also appreciate that Annie and Max work with the police. They may gather information and talk to
suspects, but they share the intel with the local authorities. There are no mean or idiotic police in
Carolyn Hart’s series (for which I am very grateful). Unfortunately, Walking on My Grave was not on
par with the previous books in the series.
There is repetition of information throughout the story (especially
about the case). I lost track of the
number of times we are told about Max’s cars.
Do readers need to be told whether he is driving the Lamborghini or the VW
(each and every time he goes out)? Annie
is working on chapbooks for Laurel, Emma and Henny. We hear about them frequently throughout the
book along with book titles and authors, Latin quotes, clothing descriptions and
mystery quotes. It felt like the author
was trying to pad the story. I found
Laurel (Annie’s mother-in-law) annoying and quickly tired of her nonsense (I do
not know how Annie puts up with her). My
rating for Walking on My Grave is 3 out of 5 stars. I wish I could say that the mystery redeemed
Walking on My Grave, but that would be an untruth. I identified the perpetrator before Ves fell
down the stairs. Only one suspect could commit
the crimes and that person sticks out like an individual with fluorescent pink
hair. It felt like the author’s heart
was not into this book knowing it was the last.
I do wish there had been an epilogue, but I did like who identified the
books that went with the watercolors. I am looking forward to Carolyn Hart's Ghost on the Case. It is the eighth A Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel and will be published on October 3.
I appreciate you visiting and reading my books reviews. The next book I will be sharing with you is Plain Haven by Susan Lantz Simpson. May you have a fantastic Friday! Be careful if you are out driving. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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