β Scribed by Mary Logue
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Deputy sheriff Claire Watkins is on the case once again in Logue's latest mystery (after Bone Harvest), set as usual in the small but not-so-sleepy town of Fort St. Antoine, Wis., population 142. The story opens on ruthless gold-digger Patty Jo Tilde as she idly watches her husband, Walter, suffer a stroke, hoping he'll die so she can sell the family farm. A how-will-she-solve-it rather than a whodunit, the novel's fun is in rooting for Claire as she first suspects and then resourcefully tries to prove what the reader knows all along. With the exception of the nasty Patty Joβthe lone Fort St. Antoine resident with a penchant for murder and arson rather than baking cherry piesβthe novel offers an endearing cast of characters. When not busy sleuthing, Claire enjoys a smalltown camaraderie with charming fellow citizens, who include farmers, a retired schoolteacher, a bookstore owner, an artist and Claire's live-in steady, Rich Haggard. Except for a few tense moments, this is a kinder, gentler novel of suspense, engagingly but slowly paced. Logue's fans who have followed Claire's evolution from big city policewoman to smalltown cop and from new widow to contented girlfriend will be cheered by her resilience and continuing crime-solving adventures.
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As this and the previous entries in her Claire Watkins series prove, Logue knows how to create suspense. Where she truly stands out, however, is in her depiction of relationships: complex bonds between lovers, spouses, siblings, and parents and their children. The bad guy in her latest is identified almost immediately, and one level of suspense concerns Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins being able to prove it. But the fascinating part of the story involves the residents in tiny Fort St. Antoine, Wisconsin, population 142. People know each other in Fort St. Antoine, which makes violent crime all the more shocking. As Claire and her sixth-grade daughter, Meg, adjust to their new live-in relationship with Rich Haggard, Claire's sister Bridget leaves her husband and moves into Claire's old house with her toddler. Amidst these personal upheavals, Claire must prove that a cruel woman is responsible for several fires--and possibly two murders. While escaping to the country may be a universal dream, Logue vividly points out that small-town life is not immune to big-time problems. Jenny McLarin
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