| Taylor Madison has settled down into her father's old house in Perdue, Texas and is busy trying to write a new mystery novel, keep anyone from noticing that Cal Arnette, the man running for Sheriff in a month's time and her boyfriend, is spending most nights over at her house, and stay on top of the gossip coming from her neighbor Dorothy. So the last thing she needs is to find a skeleton in her friend Bonita "Bo" Posey's closet. Well, chimney in this case.
When Taylor persuaded Cal to drive her out to Bo's house on the chance of finding some good garage sale bargains they found a male skeleton wedged up the chimney with a shovel. Turns out the skeleton belongs to Ralph, Bo's preacher husband who supposedly ran off with all the church funds years ago. Since it was Bo's husband and she made no bones about her hatred for the man, Bo was the natural suspect for the murder. Taylor knows that her friend Bo would never kill her husband, no matter how much she hated him, and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. But as Taylor gets involved in the past, she uncovers more mysteries instead of solutions. Why does Faith, Bo's daughter hate her? What happened to Harvey Neff, Ralph's sidekick? Why does Lewis Tucker, arguably the richest man in town live like a pauper? And what caused Lewis and Faith to break up on the night of his accident? How is the slimy new deputy Oliver Burke involved in the whole mess? And, most importantly, what is going on between Cal and the attractive Srgt. Molly Sullivan of the Lubbock Sheriff's Department? As Taylor hunts to uncover the answers to the mystery, she is forced to make some difficult decisions, but decides that she cannot let the past stay buried... This is the second book in the Taylor Madison series and it is just as good as the first one, Diamondback. I love that the author keeps the same characters coming back for more so that readers of the series can see what is happening in their lives, but first time readers will find Dearl's brief backgrounds more that adequate to catch them up. The little town of Perdue, TX is a great setting for this series and the characters are absolutely wonderful. Be on the lookout for more by this author - she is just fabulous! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50% Special suspect? - best friend Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - solving long-past murder - - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Texas Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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