Review

Dae O’Donnell has a mayoral campaign to run, but she has been missing from home for three days. Her friends and family are beginning to panic, but then Dae returns home safely. However, Dae isn’t herself and seems disinterested in her campaign. Dae has the ability of connect with people through objects they own, and this time an antique necklace puts her in touch with a spirit named Maggie Madison. Maggie says she needs Dae’s help to retrieve her bones so she can finally rest in peace, but this demanding spirit seems to have a hidden motive. Dae’s friends think Maggie has possessed Dae and urge Dae to let them help her banish Maggie forever. Is it Dae’s kindness that compels her to keep searching for Maggie’s bones, even when it puts her campaign and her life in danger, or is Dae possessed? During the search for Maggie’s bones, another dead body is found and Dae ends up in the middle of a murder investigation as well.

I really enjoyed the unique beginning of this book. All of the friends of the main character Dae are there, but Dae is missing. This is a great introduction to the major players in Duck, North Carolina as everyone describes and discusses Dae in a way that wouldn’t be possible if Dae was present. The reader also gets to know Dae’s best friend Trudy better from this interesting prologue than in all the prior books in this series combined.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book doesn’t live up to the promise of the excellent prologue. The main reason is Dae just isn’t very likeable in this installment. She is apathetic about her campaign for mayor and adopts a know-it-all attitude towards those who are trying to help her. So many of her friends and acquaintances are willing to help, but Dae ignores everyone’s advice. I wish she would have confided in someone, like her grandfather that she is usually so close to, about what was really going on. Instead, Maggie’s antics put Dae in numerous awkward and dangerous situations. If these scenes with Maggie throwing “herself” at men were supposed to be amusing, they missed the mark. When Dae’s boyfriend Kevin’s crazy ex-wife Ann is the voice of reason, you know things are going poorly!

This series started out as realistic fiction, with the touch of the paranormal since Dae can find lost things by touching the owner and sense things about the owner by touching an object. The series reminded me of a cross between Ellery Adams and Stephen King. However, the early books were still grounded in realism which made the paranormal parts believable. The past couple of books have become more and more bizarre and makes the whole premise seem far-fetched and unbelievable. I think the series would be better if it had a clear focus instead of trying to be a murder mystery, a romance, a ghost story, and a treasure hunt for valuable antiques all at the same time. The murder itself and the possible involvement of her political rival Randal “Mad Dog” Wilson, is sometime confusing and gets lost behind all of the other things going on this book.

Although all aspects of the murder and the situation with Maggie are wrapped up by the end of the book, other parts of the story are left up in the air. In fact, the purpose of the last two pages of the book is solely to set up a new storyline for a future book, leaving a major subplot in this book unanswered. After getting through to the end of the book, I felt cheated by the abrupt ending.

Joyce and Jim Lavene are talented authors. I really enjoy their Renaissance Faire mysteries and know the Missing Pieces mysteries have many fans that will enjoy A Finder’s Fee. If you’re new to the series, I recommend starting with the first couple of books to get to know the best side of Dae O’Donnell and her beloved grandfather before reading this one.