Review

Money’s tight for Devereaux “Dev” Sinclair, so when the Stepping Out Book Club asks if they can hold their monthly meeting in the alcove of her five-and-dime, she quickly assents; she should be able to make a tidy sum selling the group books and refreshments. But when the guest speaker, an author named Lance Quistgaard, offends nearly everyone in attendance and then goes and gets himself killed in the alley behind the store, Dev earns something she never bargained for:  the attention of the local police.

The shop can’t turn a profit so long as it remains a crime scene and the cops don’t have any leads, so Dev launches an investigation of her own. If she’s not careful about where she sticks her nose, though, her bottom line’s not the only thing that’ll need protecting…  
  
Dead Between the Lines is the third of Denise Swanson’s Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries. If you’re a fan of Diane Kelly’s Tara Holloway Novels and you’ve not yet had the pleasure of making Dev’s acquaintance, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. There’s something here for everyone: mystery aficionados will be kept guessing by Swanson’s artfully crafted (and socially relevant!) whodunit, thriller buffs will appreciate the brisk pace, and those who like a little romance with their murder will relish the complicated love triangle Swanson’s created involving Dev, her childhood sweetheart Noah, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio.

Readers seeking strong character work will enjoy Dead Between the Lines, as well. Dev’s a captivating and relatable heroine – sassy, snarky, and full of spunk, she’s no stranger to calories, crappy parents, and cash-flow problems, which is more than I can say for most traditional mystery protagonists. Lance Quistgaard is the perfect murder victim; Swanson makes you root for his messy and painful demise from the moment he first appears on the page. Dev’s irreverent grandmother Birdie manages to add both humor and heart to Swanson’s tale. And Noah and Jake make for fantastic love interests. Neither is the perfect man for Dev, and she knows it – Noah hurt her deeply when last they were together, and Jake’s job keeps him out of town and requires him to work closely with his ex-wife – but she can’t deny the chemistry she shares with each of them. I confess, the chapters told from Noah and Jake’s respective points of view aren’t my favorite – Swanson makes them seem like love-sick puppies, without a single non-Devereaux-related thought in their heads – but the two otherwise come across as caring and intelligent men with lives and problems of their own, which is all too rare among cozy mystery love interests.

Reviewed by Kat