Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781516103072; 9781515938507
Kensington Publishing
182 Pages
$14.69; $24.01; $5.97 Amazon
November 12, 2019
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It's October in South Cove, California and the locals in the quaint resort seem to be happily pairing of in the lull before the holidays. Everyone, that is, except for Jill Gardner's elderly aunt, who just dumped her besotted fiancé - and she won't say why.
When Jill hosts a talk at Coffee, Books, and More on the topic of elder abuse, all that's really on her mind is lunch. But the topic hits close to home when she discovers Aunt Jackie has been getting mysterious calls. Jill's certain the caller is a con artist, of course, but her feisty aunt claims to understand this, though she's still shaken - and Harrold's still heartbroken. Who's behind the scam and why was her aunt targeted? When a volunteer from the Senior Project is found murdered, Jill's detective boyfriend is on the case - and it soon becomes clear no one is safe when a caller from the beyond becomes a killer in their midst.
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When Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More hosts a meeting that includes the topic of elder abuse, she doesn't expect it to hit close to home. The speaker, a woman named Paula, can barely keep anyone interested, and Jill knows that Paula needs to be more outgoing. She also notices that Paula's boyfriend, Ben, treats her badly, but Paula herself doesn't see it.
But she's also worried about her Aunt Jackie, who has taken to becoming a recluse - only going to work and then home again, and she wonders why Jackie broke her engagement to Harrold without warning. Jackie won't say, and Jill won't press her.
Then a murder occurs, and it soon becomes apparent that there's more going on than meets the eye. Jill promises her boyfriend, police chief Greg King that she'll stay out of investigating if he'll help with Aunt Jackie - who has confessed everything to Jill, who's convinced a con artist is at work.
But Jill doesn't realize that there's more going on than meets the eye, and she needs to connect the dots before Jackie gets hurt or someone else gets killed...
I absolutely love this series, and this one doesn't disappoint. Ms. Cahoon takes the subject of elder abuse and shows us that even the most logical-seeming person can be taken in if the subject is right. The threads that start out as simple - with a murder on one hand and Aunt Jackie on the other - are slowly woven together to give us a portrait of murder, greed, jealousy, and even pain. It's an intriguing tale that while rather a quick read still gives us a tale that is delightful itself.
She manages to show us that Jill and Greg's relationship is moving forward, and gives us more information on Deek, the newest employee, and his background. He's definitely beginning to grow on me and I hope that he sticks around for awhile. We also have the usual characters of Jill's friend Amy, who is planning her wedding; psychic Esmeralda; and even the mayor, who seems to be suspicious of Greg's intentions (read the book and you'll know why).
All in all, the ending was satisfying with, of course, the discovery of who was the killer and the reasons behind it, and as also expected, South Cove is safe once again - until the next murderer decides to come to town. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Memories-Murder-Tourist-Trap-Mystery/dp/1516103076/ref=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3156814631
More on Lynn Cahoon's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/lynn-cahoon/
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