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Sylvia & Willie Mystery #1
The Prairie Grass Murders
Sylvia Thorn, circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Florida, takes an unexpected trip to her hometown of Sangamon City, Illinois when her older brother, Willie Grisseljon, is confined to a county hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. A Vietnam vet with lingering side effects from the war, Willie finds a body while he's on vacation. When he tries to report his discovery to a deputy sheriff, he is locked up as a vagrant with delusions.
Willie insists on returning to the site where the body is hidden before notifying the sheriff. Soon he and Sylvia discover clues about the murdered businessman, his wife, a tenant farmer, concealed Indian artifacts, and uprooted stands of prairie grass that may help the sexy sheriff find the murderer. But Sylvia runs into trouble when she's caught nosing around the old homestead. She hides from the gun-toting suspects and overhears another murder. Two more narrow escapes, and Sylvia just wants to go home.
Relieved when the sheriff lets them return to Florida, Sylvia doesn't realize at first that she and her brother are still in danger. A mysterious new neighbor with a menacing bodyguard, and new information Sylvia finds in her legal system database, provide clues that could solve the murders. Sylvia uses her law enforcement contacts, as well as Willie's intuitive skills, to provide the missing links to state and federal authorities, even though she is forced to make a drastic change in her life as a result.
Willie insists on returning to the site where the body is hidden before notifying the sheriff. Soon he and Sylvia discover clues about the murdered businessman, his wife, a tenant farmer, concealed Indian artifacts, and uprooted stands of prairie grass that may help the sexy sheriff find the murderer. But Sylvia runs into trouble when she's caught nosing around the old homestead. She hides from the gun-toting suspects and overhears another murder. Two more narrow escapes, and Sylvia just wants to go home.
Relieved when the sheriff lets them return to Florida, Sylvia doesn't realize at first that she and her brother are still in danger. A mysterious new neighbor with a menacing bodyguard, and new information Sylvia finds in her legal system database, provide clues that could solve the murders. Sylvia uses her law enforcement contacts, as well as Willie's intuitive skills, to provide the missing links to state and federal authorities, even though she is forced to make a drastic change in her life as a result.
247 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2007
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 25, 2019
First, a BIG SHOUT OUT to PW overdrive. Way to have some random selections in your catalog of choices!!! This was an audiobook.
This is the second thing I picked at random to listen to at work this week, having no previous knowledge of the writer or series. I liked it.
Another entertaining surprise.
Intriguing mystery. Lots of suspects, several clues, possible motives…
I liked Wille & Sylvia & their sibling relationship.
I also enjoyed that Sylvia did Tai Chi and read mysteries b/c I do it also so I thought it was a cool detail to add.
Sylvia is a judge, Willie is a vet who’s also psychic were also different aspects to add to the typical mystery trope.
I did find it interesting that the main characters were in their 60’s. I thought that was a nice twist on the typical amateur detective characters in a story.
And when Sylvia was in trouble, the suspense was taut & I was on edge.
I guessed some of it. But there was still a surprising twist in the end.
This is another one that I liked w/2 in a series, and the 2nd one is hard to find. I look forward finding & reading it. And it’s a shame there’s only 2 as I’d read more with these characters.
This is the second thing I picked at random to listen to at work this week, having no previous knowledge of the writer or series. I liked it.
Another entertaining surprise.
Intriguing mystery. Lots of suspects, several clues, possible motives…
I liked Wille & Sylvia & their sibling relationship.
I also enjoyed that Sylvia did Tai Chi and read mysteries b/c I do it also so I thought it was a cool detail to add.
Sylvia is a judge, Willie is a vet who’s also psychic were also different aspects to add to the typical mystery trope.
I did find it interesting that the main characters were in their 60’s. I thought that was a nice twist on the typical amateur detective characters in a story.
And when Sylvia was in trouble, the suspense was taut & I was on edge.
I guessed some of it. But there was still a surprising twist in the end.
This is another one that I liked w/2 in a series, and the 2nd one is hard to find. I look forward finding & reading it. And it’s a shame there’s only 2 as I’d read more with these characters.
Read
November 18, 2010This is the review I posted on my blog (http://annbest-jen.blogspot.com):
I like the blurb on the back cover of The Prairie Grass Murders.
The Sweet Smell
of Something Rotten
Vietnam veteran Willie Grisseljon is hiking through the rural Illinois countryside of his youth when he stumbles over a dead body hidden in a raspberry patch. When Willie reports his discovery, the local deputy takes one look at the wild-eyed veteran—still suffering from post-traumatic stress—and locks him up in the psychiatric ward. Luckily, Willie has family in high places. His sister, Palm Beach, Florida, Judge Sylvia Thorn,brings her investigative skills to the scene.
A hike back to the spot reveals newly plowed soil and no corpse. Suspecting a cover-up, Sylvia turns to the sheriff, her old flame, to begin piecing together clues surrounding a missing business developer and the corruption and secrets he may have taken to his grave. For Sylvia, the seemingly obvious solution has a darker spectre--one that follows her home to Florida,where danger stalks her in her own backyard.
I was intrigued. I was even more intrigued when I read the first page of the book, an excerpt from chapter one.
"Damn." Willie let his breath go with a whoosh."Bird, dead bodies have given me nightmares ever since 'Nam." He took a deep breath. "But I guess I better check this out."
Moving closer to the brambles, Willie leaned over and pulled some of the stalks apart, painfully snagging his fingers in the process.Above the shoe, a strip of black sock led to the bottom edge of a black pant leg. Willie dropped the brush back into place.
Good place to hide a body, he thought. A raspberry patch picked clean of berries wouldn't get any attention before next year's berry-picking season. And if this patch had been pulled and stacked up for burning, or hauling, the body might never turn up.
Willie shook his head in disbelief. Why did this keep happening to him?
In chapter one, with a keen eye for descriptive narration and dialogue, Patricia Stoltey takes us with Willie to the body, and then into the Lincoln County Hospital where he’s going to be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation, thanks to the local deputy who caught him in the grass. But first, he’s going to call his sister, a Florida judge. I know exactly what she’ll say, he thinks at the end of the chapter.
This is a thought that foreshadows an important insight about him that will be useful later in the plot. It’s an insight that comes from his sister at the end of chapter two: “The other thing he’s good at is readingpeople—feeling vibes and sensing when something isn’t right.”
Chapter one is third person viewpoint, through Willie's eyes. At the end of the chapter when Willie thinks he knows what his sister will say,"he shrugged and blew a little puff of air through his lips as he imagined Judge Sylvia Thorn's reaction." And then, the next sentence we read is the beginning of chapter two.
"Ow, ouch! Blast it, Tak!" I shouted.
Is this Willie talking? Doesn’t sound like him. But through snappy dialogue we immediately know we're now in first person viewpoint, and Sylvia is talking with Tequila Picon(Tak), a colorful character who will soon disappear and then reappear near the end of the novel at one of the crucial twists and turns of the plot.
I'm expecting the rest of the novel to be first person. But it's not. However, since Willie is a man of fewer words than his sister is, it makes sense that his third-person sections are few.
The viewpoint also serves to emphasize the differences between the protagonists. Willie is the reticent Vietnam veteran who suffers from a traumatic war shock and eats healthy food. Outgoing Sylvia is nine years younger than her sibling, and the savvy Florida judge who, in the words of her doting mother with whom she concurs, has “a wild side.” She eats a lot of junk food while Willie silently rolls his eyes.
I love these characters!
The dialogue between Sylvia and Willie, and the cast of other colorful characters in the novel, is as snappy as the plot with its twists and turns that continue up to the very last suspenseful page. A feat that reminds me of several of my favorite authors. But as one reviewer (Patti Yackulic) said: “Far too often readers of any genre become so attached to specific authors that they fail to notice up-and-coming authors who have incredible talent. Patricia Stoltey is one such who-done-it author not to be dismissed.”
“Incredible talent.” I agree. “Not to be dismissed.” Yes. And I'm very glad I found her.
If you like murder mysteries filled with interesting and quirky characters, I think you’ll like Patricia Stoltey. I do!
I like the blurb on the back cover of The Prairie Grass Murders.
The Sweet Smell
of Something Rotten
Vietnam veteran Willie Grisseljon is hiking through the rural Illinois countryside of his youth when he stumbles over a dead body hidden in a raspberry patch. When Willie reports his discovery, the local deputy takes one look at the wild-eyed veteran—still suffering from post-traumatic stress—and locks him up in the psychiatric ward. Luckily, Willie has family in high places. His sister, Palm Beach, Florida, Judge Sylvia Thorn,brings her investigative skills to the scene.
A hike back to the spot reveals newly plowed soil and no corpse. Suspecting a cover-up, Sylvia turns to the sheriff, her old flame, to begin piecing together clues surrounding a missing business developer and the corruption and secrets he may have taken to his grave. For Sylvia, the seemingly obvious solution has a darker spectre--one that follows her home to Florida,where danger stalks her in her own backyard.
I was intrigued. I was even more intrigued when I read the first page of the book, an excerpt from chapter one.
"Damn." Willie let his breath go with a whoosh."Bird, dead bodies have given me nightmares ever since 'Nam." He took a deep breath. "But I guess I better check this out."
Moving closer to the brambles, Willie leaned over and pulled some of the stalks apart, painfully snagging his fingers in the process.Above the shoe, a strip of black sock led to the bottom edge of a black pant leg. Willie dropped the brush back into place.
Good place to hide a body, he thought. A raspberry patch picked clean of berries wouldn't get any attention before next year's berry-picking season. And if this patch had been pulled and stacked up for burning, or hauling, the body might never turn up.
Willie shook his head in disbelief. Why did this keep happening to him?
In chapter one, with a keen eye for descriptive narration and dialogue, Patricia Stoltey takes us with Willie to the body, and then into the Lincoln County Hospital where he’s going to be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation, thanks to the local deputy who caught him in the grass. But first, he’s going to call his sister, a Florida judge. I know exactly what she’ll say, he thinks at the end of the chapter.
This is a thought that foreshadows an important insight about him that will be useful later in the plot. It’s an insight that comes from his sister at the end of chapter two: “The other thing he’s good at is readingpeople—feeling vibes and sensing when something isn’t right.”
Chapter one is third person viewpoint, through Willie's eyes. At the end of the chapter when Willie thinks he knows what his sister will say,"he shrugged and blew a little puff of air through his lips as he imagined Judge Sylvia Thorn's reaction." And then, the next sentence we read is the beginning of chapter two.
"Ow, ouch! Blast it, Tak!" I shouted.
Is this Willie talking? Doesn’t sound like him. But through snappy dialogue we immediately know we're now in first person viewpoint, and Sylvia is talking with Tequila Picon(Tak), a colorful character who will soon disappear and then reappear near the end of the novel at one of the crucial twists and turns of the plot.
I'm expecting the rest of the novel to be first person. But it's not. However, since Willie is a man of fewer words than his sister is, it makes sense that his third-person sections are few.
The viewpoint also serves to emphasize the differences between the protagonists. Willie is the reticent Vietnam veteran who suffers from a traumatic war shock and eats healthy food. Outgoing Sylvia is nine years younger than her sibling, and the savvy Florida judge who, in the words of her doting mother with whom she concurs, has “a wild side.” She eats a lot of junk food while Willie silently rolls his eyes.
I love these characters!
The dialogue between Sylvia and Willie, and the cast of other colorful characters in the novel, is as snappy as the plot with its twists and turns that continue up to the very last suspenseful page. A feat that reminds me of several of my favorite authors. But as one reviewer (Patti Yackulic) said: “Far too often readers of any genre become so attached to specific authors that they fail to notice up-and-coming authors who have incredible talent. Patricia Stoltey is one such who-done-it author not to be dismissed.”
“Incredible talent.” I agree. “Not to be dismissed.” Yes. And I'm very glad I found her.
If you like murder mysteries filled with interesting and quirky characters, I think you’ll like Patricia Stoltey. I do!
July 21, 2010
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of the things Stoltey does extremely well is establish setting. Since the bulk of the story takes place in central Illinois, where I'm from, I found that an added bonus. Her settings are so authentic, it helps set the stage for the narrative, which is fast-paced and tightly woven, with twists and turns along the way. When the story moved to South Florida, the same delights met me, and it felt like I was there. It's the details that she includes which made this book stand out from your typical series mystery. She's an excellent writer, and I hope she gets the acclaim for her work that she deserves.
February 9, 2021
Quick and interesting read (or listen!). The main characters are likable and relate-able except for that whole psychic thing. It was kind of random for them and felt odd in the story. The action starts off early on and lasts through the entire story. I am glad it didn't really have any slow parts. The ending was a little non-shocking though. It was kind of made a little obvious. There were a few smaller aspects that I didn't guess but the main stuff I did.
Good story and I will continue with the series.
Good story and I will continue with the series.
February 20, 2018
The Prairie Grass Murders by Patricia Stoltey starts as a straight forward mystery, simplistic even. Nam vet discovers corpse at his family's old farm while on vacation. When he runs afoul a corrupt cop, his little sister, who happens to be a judge in another jurisdiction, comes to the rescue. Stoltey piles the clues as the perps do their best to silence the sister/brother sleuths. But as in the best mysteries, nothing is as it first seems. There're plenty of red herrings to chase, but the best parts come after the reader learns who-done-it.
What makes this book so engrossing is the well-rounded characters. Sure some of the bad guys are telegraphed from the git-go, but Stolety is deft at adding motivational twists to the action that keep the reader guessing. When you think the story line has settled onto a well-trod path, Stoltey lurches off in another direction that adds a new interpretation of the facts.
The above isn't a criticism. Most mysteries are linear: A influences B, B influences C, etc. The Prairie Grass Murders' storyline twists and turns like any good mystery, but Stoltey takes it one step further. Reading her plotline is more like peeling an onion or opening a set of nesting dolls. You never quite know what you're going to find even though you have a fair idea about where the story is going.
What makes this book so engrossing is the well-rounded characters. Sure some of the bad guys are telegraphed from the git-go, but Stolety is deft at adding motivational twists to the action that keep the reader guessing. When you think the story line has settled onto a well-trod path, Stoltey lurches off in another direction that adds a new interpretation of the facts.
The above isn't a criticism. Most mysteries are linear: A influences B, B influences C, etc. The Prairie Grass Murders' storyline twists and turns like any good mystery, but Stoltey takes it one step further. Reading her plotline is more like peeling an onion or opening a set of nesting dolls. You never quite know what you're going to find even though you have a fair idea about where the story is going.
May 23, 2017
Story seemed a little far fetched, rather convoluted, an OK read
December 22, 2021
Boring.
June 19, 2011
First Line: Willie narrowed his eyes against the sun's glare as he watched the huge bird circle overhead.
Willie Grisseljon is taking a well-deserved vacation back in central Illinois where he grew up. Hiking through the backroads and fields that he knew as a child, he finds a dead body beneath a pile of debris. As he's walking to town to tell the police of his discovery, he's stopped by a policeman. The policeman's reaction is to take Willie's identification and haul him off to the county hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
When he can get to a phone, he calls his sister, Sylvia Thorn, who just happens to be a circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Florida. Sylvia clears her docket and heads to central Illinois. When she and her brother go to find the body, the pile of debris is much higher, and the body can't be seen. The two go to town to tell the sheriff-- and Sylvia finds out he's her old high school flame. It also isn't long before she knows that something's not right in Sangamon City, Illinois, and that trouble is going to follow them both all the way back to Florida.
I really liked the two main characters. Sylvia is a level-headed woman in her fifties who doesn't panic. Her profession has taught her how to deal with all the various law enforcement agencies, and she uses her contacts to good effect. Her brother, Willie, is a Vietnam vet who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. This has given him a few quirks, but he deals with them. He's a highly intelligent man who has built and run a successful small business, and he does his bit to help those in need. Sylvia knows that it's always a good idea to follow Willie's intuition.
Although I thought the villains were rather easy to identify in this book, "who" didn't matter as much as "why", and I found the "why" very interesting. With two very strong main characters, I hope this series is in for a good, long run.
Willie Grisseljon is taking a well-deserved vacation back in central Illinois where he grew up. Hiking through the backroads and fields that he knew as a child, he finds a dead body beneath a pile of debris. As he's walking to town to tell the police of his discovery, he's stopped by a policeman. The policeman's reaction is to take Willie's identification and haul him off to the county hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
When he can get to a phone, he calls his sister, Sylvia Thorn, who just happens to be a circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Florida. Sylvia clears her docket and heads to central Illinois. When she and her brother go to find the body, the pile of debris is much higher, and the body can't be seen. The two go to town to tell the sheriff-- and Sylvia finds out he's her old high school flame. It also isn't long before she knows that something's not right in Sangamon City, Illinois, and that trouble is going to follow them both all the way back to Florida.
I really liked the two main characters. Sylvia is a level-headed woman in her fifties who doesn't panic. Her profession has taught her how to deal with all the various law enforcement agencies, and she uses her contacts to good effect. Her brother, Willie, is a Vietnam vet who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. This has given him a few quirks, but he deals with them. He's a highly intelligent man who has built and run a successful small business, and he does his bit to help those in need. Sylvia knows that it's always a good idea to follow Willie's intuition.
Although I thought the villains were rather easy to identify in this book, "who" didn't matter as much as "why", and I found the "why" very interesting. With two very strong main characters, I hope this series is in for a good, long run.
Read
January 5, 2009The Prairie Grass Murders, by Patricia Stoltey, narrated by Beth Richmond, produced by Books in Motion, downloaded from audible.com.
Sylvia Thorne is a circuit court judge in Florida who originally came from Illinois. Her older brother, Willie, a Vietnam vet with PTSD symptoms, decides to go back to his hometown for a vacation. While hiking, he finds a body. When a deputy sheriff comes along, he tells him there’s a body. The deputy doesn’t believe him, arrests him, takes hi billfold so there will be no identification, and leaves him in the psyche ward of the county hospital. He has them call his sister, a judge, and she comes immediately. He insists on going back to the site where the body was found. He believes that he was arrested because he saw the body and others didn’t want him to. As the book progresses, clues as to why the businessman was murdered come through in information about the varying interests regarding the land use of the farm on which the murder takes place-environmental interests such as planting prairie grass, interests of developers in building condos, and interests of finding Indian artifacts and selling them to get rich. Sylvia finds herself and Willie very involved in solving the murder, and she is put in contact with her old boy friend, now the sheriff. This is a good, though lightweight book. I would guess this is a debut mystery. If so, the author has a good writing style, if she backs away from the romance, and I’ll read other books by her.
Sylvia Thorne is a circuit court judge in Florida who originally came from Illinois. Her older brother, Willie, a Vietnam vet with PTSD symptoms, decides to go back to his hometown for a vacation. While hiking, he finds a body. When a deputy sheriff comes along, he tells him there’s a body. The deputy doesn’t believe him, arrests him, takes hi billfold so there will be no identification, and leaves him in the psyche ward of the county hospital. He has them call his sister, a judge, and she comes immediately. He insists on going back to the site where the body was found. He believes that he was arrested because he saw the body and others didn’t want him to. As the book progresses, clues as to why the businessman was murdered come through in information about the varying interests regarding the land use of the farm on which the murder takes place-environmental interests such as planting prairie grass, interests of developers in building condos, and interests of finding Indian artifacts and selling them to get rich. Sylvia finds herself and Willie very involved in solving the murder, and she is put in contact with her old boy friend, now the sheriff. This is a good, though lightweight book. I would guess this is a debut mystery. If so, the author has a good writing style, if she backs away from the romance, and I’ll read other books by her.
November 20, 2011
2.5 Stars - Spoileriffic review following
I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I thought that Sylvia was a mildly interesting character. My problem with this book is that it feels as though Ms. Stotley included every single idea she had in it, without going back and removing what was extraneous. Also, the weird half-step into paranormal (what was with Willie and Syl's supposed psychic connection?) threw me out of the story every time it was mentioned.
Some of the questions that Ms. Stoltey's characters asked were things that I also wondered. Why would Trace give Syl so much info if he was involved in what happened? I also wondered why he would have risked giving Syl and Willie his personal cell phone to use, when he knew that any of the bad guys could have called him at any time.
Syl definitely wasn't as smart or analytical as her educational and professional background would have suggested that she was. It was difficult to believe in the intelligence of a judge who missed the types of clues that she completely overlooked or just didn't get.
I'm not going to go so far as to say that getting this audiobook was a waste of my time, but I have no interest in listening to the rest of this series.
I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I thought that Sylvia was a mildly interesting character. My problem with this book is that it feels as though Ms. Stotley included every single idea she had in it, without going back and removing what was extraneous. Also, the weird half-step into paranormal (what was with Willie and Syl's supposed psychic connection?) threw me out of the story every time it was mentioned.
Some of the questions that Ms. Stoltey's characters asked were things that I also wondered. Why would Trace give Syl so much info if he was involved in what happened? I also wondered why he would have risked giving Syl and Willie his personal cell phone to use, when he knew that any of the bad guys could have called him at any time.
Syl definitely wasn't as smart or analytical as her educational and professional background would have suggested that she was. It was difficult to believe in the intelligence of a judge who missed the types of clues that she completely overlooked or just didn't get.
I'm not going to go so far as to say that getting this audiobook was a waste of my time, but I have no interest in listening to the rest of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2013
Ah, visiting the old hometown.... That's what Willie is doing when he stumbles across a corpse in rural Illinois. Then a deputy tosses him in the local loony bin, prompting him to call his sister, Sylvia, to fly in from Florida and rescue him. She does so and discovers that an old high-school flame is now the sheriff. Fun times! Or not so much....
Stoltey sends Willie and Syl on quite the adventure in this book. Both characters have a lot of spunk, and I liked how they related to each other as siblings. I think, however, that the action suffered a bit due to the degree of interiority used. Both of them would spend lots of time thinking about things, and I felt that this made it a little too easy for the reader to know things we should have to work a little harder to understand. So some suspense was lost, but I still enjoyed watching the story unfold.
Stoltey also does a great job bringing the small-town Illinois setting to life. I actually dislike Illinois (having spent far too many hours driving through it), but I would recommend this to readers who do like rural Illinois, as well as to readers who appreciate traditional amateur sleuths.
Stoltey sends Willie and Syl on quite the adventure in this book. Both characters have a lot of spunk, and I liked how they related to each other as siblings. I think, however, that the action suffered a bit due to the degree of interiority used. Both of them would spend lots of time thinking about things, and I felt that this made it a little too easy for the reader to know things we should have to work a little harder to understand. So some suspense was lost, but I still enjoyed watching the story unfold.
Stoltey also does a great job bringing the small-town Illinois setting to life. I actually dislike Illinois (having spent far too many hours driving through it), but I would recommend this to readers who do like rural Illinois, as well as to readers who appreciate traditional amateur sleuths.
November 27, 2016
An interesting book involving a brother-sister team. Sylvia Thorn, circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Florida, takes an unexpected trip to Sangamon City, Illinois when her older brother, Willie Grisseljon, gets into a bit of a fix. Willie a Vietnam veteran with a few lingering side effects from the war, is on vacation, exploring the countryside where he and Sylvia had grown up. He finds a body, and when he tries to report his discovery to a deputy sheriff, he is locked up as a vagrant with delusions. Sylvia and Willie are soon entangled in a big mess with more killings in the offering and trouble that follows them back home to Florida. A really interesting read. The characters are much more mature not only in age but insight also. Willie is a bit of a savant and the story line is pretty good and plausible.
February 14, 2011
I didn't know what to expect from this novel. I knew it was written by a fellow blogger and that the mystery took place on a prairie... or prairie-ish setting. There was a part of me that feared large chunks of description - and there was plenty of it. However, not enough to skip. I actually felt like the author wanted the reader to see what the characters saw. It was kinda nice. Besides, the description was placed between action and plenty of dialogue.
Even though the characters were older, there were some amazing action scenes. The mystery is good and you'll want to read the next book in the series.
Even though the characters were older, there were some amazing action scenes. The mystery is good and you'll want to read the next book in the series.
July 1, 2017
This was an alright book for me. I was hoping and expecting for it have a very interesting as well as very catching plot but it didn't catch my interest as it plodded along. Furthermore the ending to the story wasn't expected but it was also not a very good ending.
The characters were on the medium line - some were good and easy to respond to while others were almost lifeless. It is an interesting read with a few interesting characters but slow at times.
The characters were on the medium line - some were good and easy to respond to while others were almost lifeless. It is an interesting read with a few interesting characters but slow at times.
Read
January 19, 2011The author of this title is an RMFW member. For that reason, we do not rate these selections. We’re kind of biased. However, it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have them on our shelves. And you’ll see this message on any other titles that come from our members. We do hope that you’ll consider reading it, though. ;)
Gusto Dave, Publicity Chair for RMFW
Gusto Dave, Publicity Chair for RMFW
October 22, 2012
First half was pretty predictable setting the plot and typical turns of events, obvious characters. Last half was filled with good, unexpected reveals just when I thought the main story was finished.
March 5, 2016
Liked the rural IL setting for part of the story. Listened to this one. 59 year old woman-judge and her older brother who suffers PTSD from his time in VietNam. Overall, enjoyed characters and story, although not the most realistic plot.
Read
July 13, 2009Enjoying it a great deal so far. Interesting characters, not the run-of-the-mill expectations.
October 2, 2011
This book doesn't really deserve a review.
October 4, 2011
Great characters and an intriguing plot line. Loved the byplay between the siblings. Really enjoyed this one! :)
Want to read
June 12, 2013I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11878763
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11878763
January 17, 2015
Couldn't put down
A clever heroine who never gives up and a thrilling mystery with twist after twist. Never underestimate those baby boomers. Will be reading more by this author.
A clever heroine who never gives up and a thrilling mystery with twist after twist. Never underestimate those baby boomers. Will be reading more by this author.
January 23, 2011
A good mystery, some twists and turns with an environmental message.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews