Polly Dent Loses Grip: LaTisha Barnhart Mystery Series

LaTisha Barnhart Mystery #2

by S. Dionne Moore

Who says exercise is good for one’s health? Certainly not Polly Dent!   Polly Dent Loses Grip on the treadmill and takes a fatal spill that’s ruled an accident.   While helping her mother-in-law move into Bridgeton Towers Assisted Living & Nursing, LaTisha Barnhart’s nose smells trouble simmering. The residents’ gossip is revealing all kinds of motives for murder. Gertrude Herrman is out looking for love in the form of Thomas Philcher (or is it love of his fat wallet instead?), and Polly’s fall eliminates Gertrude’s competition once and for all. Otis Payne, the venerable director of Bridgeton Towers, is over a barrel when his wife demands cash—or else she’ll carry on without him.   Mitzi Mullins’s penchant for rhyme puts her in direct line as perpetrator of the crime, and Sue Mie’s mistake seals Polly’s fate. Can LaTisha stay on her achin’ feet, and one step ahead of the villain, long enough to solve yet another crime?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

253 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

S. Dionne Moore resides in South Central PA with her family. She is a weekly contributor to The Borrowed Book (http://www.theborrowedbook.blogspot.com) where she posts tips on the writing life, recipes, and teaches on various writing-related subjects. In addition to writing the LOL adventures that are the LaTisha Barnhart Mystery trilogy, (Murder on the Ol ' Bunions, Polly Dent Loses Grip, Your Goose is Cooked--.99 on Kindle and iPad!) she writes historical romance. Her latest release in May of 2013 is A Heartbeat Away, a story of love and hope set during the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, MD.

Reviews

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polly Dent Loses Grip has the Barnharts trying to get Hardy’s elderly mother settled into a retirement residence. Management dismisses an on-site death as accidental, but LaTisha sees murder in the mix. As well as Polly Dent (whose hands may have slipped on some powder), there are other amusing names in this book: Sue Mie is an angry young woman with attitude, and Thomas Philcher is rumoured to be a bank robber.

Your Goose is Cooked is book 3. LaTisha and Hardy are back in Maple Gap and they’re the new owners of a restaurant called “Your Goose is Cooked.” Their cook overhears a threat on the mayor’s life but is afraid to go to the police, leaving LaTisha to investigate. Add a murder and an attempted hit-and-run on LaTisha herself, throw in small-town rumours and an election campaign, and things get a bit wild.

This is a fun, light-hearted mystery series, and I recommend starting with book 1. The stories build on one another, from Murder on the Ol’ Bunions to Polly Dent Loses Grip to Your Goose is Cooked. They’re 99¢ each for Kindle and at Smashwords, so why not collect all three?

I won an e-copy of Your Goose is Cooked at Lena Nelson Dooley’s blog, A Christian Writer’s World, and liked it so much I bought books 1 and 2.  The draw is over, but if you click here you can read an interview with S. Dionne Moore and an excerpt from book 1, Murder on the Ol’ Bunions.

S. Dionne Moore writes historical romance and cozy mysteries. To learn more about her and her books, visit her website.  Your Goose is Cooked is only available in electronic format, but her previous books are in print as well as ebooks.

[Book 3 provided by S. Dionne Moore and Lena Nelson Dooley, with no strings attached. Books 1 and 2 purchased from Smashwords. The choice to write a review was mine.]

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't a good choice for me. I won it in a contest and started reading it, but couldn't finish it. It's rare I can't finish a book. I think it is geared for the older set. It is a mystery set in an assisted living community. The characters are the older set. It wasn't boring, I just couldn't connect with the book. I think my Grandmother would like to read it, and I'll be sure to pass it on to her.