Classic Revenge
Mitzi Kelly


ISBN-10:
1477812563
ISBN-13: 978-1477812563
Publisher: Harlequin
Line: Worldwide Mystery
Release Date: Nov 1, 2012
Pages: 270
Retail Price: 7.99




Genre:
Mystery
Rating:

The tragic and suspicious death of neighbor Susan Wiley unites a trio of unlikely sleuths determined to free an innocent man. Trish, Edna and Millie, women of a certain age, know that Susan's husband of forty years, Sam, adored his wife. He would never harm a hair on her perfect head, much less electrocute her with a radio while she enjoyed her morning bath. With Sam behind bars, the ladies have some detecting to do.

While the police chief dismisses their effort, the trio uncovers some clues involving Sam's business and an angry employee. Soon after, another suspect is seen wearing the dead woman's jewelry and an intruder breaks in to Millie's home. Just when the ladies think they've identified the killer, another murder occurs. And they realize it's a fine line between being a neighborhood busybody—and a dead body.

Review

Susan Wiley dies in her bathtub while preparing to celebrate her fortieth wedding anniversary. It looks like a tragic accident, but then the police determine it’s murder and arrest Susan’s husband Sam. Sam is a great guy and friends of the couple know he was truly devoted to his wife, but the police aren’t looking for any additional suspects. This spurs Susan’s friends Trish, Millie, and Edna to action. Much to the annoyance of the police detective assigned to the case, the “Silver Sleuths” of Grand River, Texas decide to work together to prove Sam’s innocence, even if they put themselves in the sights of the real murderer.

Classic Revenge marks the debut of an interesting new series featuring three friends ranging in age from the late forties to eighty plus years old. Trish is the youngest of the group and is recently divorced. Millie is a widow with a grown daughter, and Edna is happily married to Joe and has two sons close to Trish’s age. It’s great seeing a diverse group of women who are such close friends. They are at different stages of their lives, but they are all intelligent and loyal. Their personalities complement each other in their friendship and in their investigation in Susan’s murder. They don’t agree on everything and Millie’s impulsiveness and outspoken ways sometimes irritate Trish and even the easy-going Edna, but they are there for each other when it really matters.

All of the main characters are likeable and Millie and Trish’s friendly bickering is both funny and believable. Although Millie is the oldest of the friends, Edna is the “mom” of the group, smoothing things over when anyone disagrees and seeing the best in everyone. Edna’s loving and tolerant husband is also a nice addition to the mix, offering both caution and support to his wife and her friends.

Millie’s love of neighborhood gossip becomes a benefit when trying to figure out who could have murdered the likeable Susan Wiley. Both Millie and Trish think fast and are often impulsive, which leads to amusing dialogue and situations. The book is most entertaining when the events remain fresh. Unfortunately, some of the developments in the story are predictable and events start getting repetitive. The characters get stuck in a rut and after a while, there investigation consists of following a potential suspect, spying on them for a while, and then going back later to question them or even do a little breaking and entering to try to find evidence against them. The first time is funny and interesting, but it quickly becomes old after that. When the three women actually get down to questioning the suspects and witnesses, it is entertaining. Joe,

Everything dealing with this case is resolved by the end of the story. The book’s ending sets up the next investigation for the three friends in this promising new series. Fans of Anne George and Mary Daheim will appreciate the main characters as well as their sense of humor in this light-hearted debut by Mitzi Kelly.

Reviewed by Christine


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