In Prosper, Missouri Widow Stella Hardesty and Sheriff Goat Jones enjoy dining together with both looking forward to an after dinner snack. However, Goat’s soon to be ex wife Brandy arrives intoxicated and hysterical; claiming she needs protection. Stella leaves frustrated as hurricane Brandy is quite a storm.
Stella stops at her sewing-machine repair shop she inherited from her late husband Ollie. While looking in on her assistant Chrissy Shaw, Stella answers the phone. Former wife abuser and ex Oxycontin addict Neb Donovan has been arrested for the murder of a woman. Apparently a tornado tore apart the demolition-derby stadium snack revealing a body had been interred there. Neb poured the concrete that was ripped open. Stella, feeling she still needs to protect Neb’s wife Donna like she did when her husband was a druggie, investigates.
Sophie Littlefield’s amateur sleuth return (see A Bad Day for Sorry) is a soft boiled crime caper as the heroine balances her inquiry and her desire for “Blue Eyes” in a fun lighthearted whodunit. Sub-genre fans will enjoy cozying with Stella, who could have been a contender except that the inane shenanigans of Brandy and her boyfriend Wil might leave her dead instead.
Harriet Klausner 07/17/2010 |