Customer Reviews

Best Laid Plans

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Best Laid Plans is a murder mystery set in the small town of Lake George where hidden secrets must be unveiled before the murder can be solved. The mayor sleuth is lovable, intelligent but not overbearing -- except maybe to those afraid of what she might uncover. The trail twists and turns to an unexpected but satisfying ending.

Mayor Loren Graham is busy helping her Lake George community prepare for the 3 month tourist season but there is always something getting in the way. First, a dead body shows up in the locked historical French-Indian War display --- and then disappears, then a resident shows up dead at the end of a long flight of stairs. Accident or murder? The more clues Loren uncovers, the more secrets she finds---hidden alliances, hidden histories, hidden loves, hidden people. Truth becomes elusive in this small community, but find it she must, even if it puts her in danger. Loren is a politician sticking her nose in everyone's affairs, but as the mayor of a small town, she is a lovable sleuth. She wants the truth. Most of the town's residents and visitors like her --- at least until she rustles some feathers and unearths some well-orchestrated secrets. Trouble has a way of finding her.

Best Laid Plans is a great mystery read and a nice variation to other mysteries I have read recently. Here the sleuth is a bit sassy. She is smart but she also falls into some truths by accident. Best Laid Plans was more like a traditional mystery read, at least traditional in terms of the mysteries I first read when I became a fan of the mystery genre. Best Laid Plans contains more twists and turns than I first expected --- a real plus making this a great mystery read. The ending is satisfying although just slightly rushed but only slightly and not enough to lessen the fun mystery. I don't want to reveal too much and create spoilers to detract from the clever unveiling of the perpetrator and motive but this mystery was a fun read and a needed change of pace.

Loren Graham is the mayor of Emerald Point. While the town is preparing to drum up more business for tourist season, someone else has plans on how to go about it. Ideas like a dead body stuffed in a display case of the French and Indian War memorabilia that appears one moment and the next disappears or how about finding Emerald Point's very own, Madeline Hathaway's body at the bottom of some stone stairs at her lakeside home. Mayor Graham can't allow murders to start popping up all over her town, so she decides to take matters into her own hands and figure out who is behind all this mayhem. The closer Mayor Graham gets to the truth the crazier she looks. The reason for this is because every time the police or anyone shows up, the bodies disappear as if nothing ever happened. Can Mayor Graham get to the bottom of things before Emerald Point gets a bad rap?

Best Laid Plans is the third book in Anne White's Lake George mystery series. I have not read the other books in this series but Best Laid Plans can be read without having read the other books prior to Best Laid Plans. Now having said that I am sorry to say that I did not like this book as well as I thought I would. The characters were fine and the plot was good but for me I had a hard time staying focused throughout the book. The beginning was good, the middle was alright and towards the end I was reading the last few chapters just to have it end. There are not many books that I have come across where I did not like them but Best Laid Plans was not one of them this time. I might try another book by this author sometime in the future.

Best Laid Plans is a murder mystery set in the small town of Lake George where hidden secrets must be unveiled before the murder can be solved. The mayor sleuth is lovable, intelligent but not overbearing -- except maybe to those afraid of what she might uncover. The trail twists and turns to an unexpected but satisfying ending.

Mayor Loren Graham is busy helping her Lake George community prepare for the 3 month tourist season but there is always something getting in the way. First, a dead body shows up in the locked historical French-Indian War display --- and then disappears, then a resident shows up dead at the end of a long flight of stairs. Accident or murder? The more clues Loren uncovers, the more secrets she finds---hidden alliances, hidden histories, hidden loves, hidden people. Truth becomes elusive in this small community, but find it she must, even if it puts her in danger. Loren is a politician sticking her nose in everyone's affairs, but as the mayor of a small town, she is a lovable sleuth. She wants the truth. Most of the town's residents and visitors like her --- at least until she rustles some feathers and unearths some well-orchestrated secrets. Trouble has a way of finding her.

Best Laid Plans is a great mystery read and a nice variation to other mysteries I have read recently. Here the sleuth is a bit sassy. She is smart but she also falls into some truths by accident. Best Laid Plans was more like a traditional mystery read, at least traditional in terms of the mysteries I first read when I became a fan of the mystery genre. Best Laid Plans contains more twists and turns than I first expected --- a real plus making this a great mystery read. The ending is satisfying although just slightly rushed but only slightly and not enough to lessen the fun mystery. I don't want to reveal too much and create spoilers to detract from the clever unveiling of the perpetrator and motive but this mystery was a fun read and a needed change of pace.

Sharing the same affection for the Lake George area as Anne White, I red the entire Lake George Mystery series. The Best Laid Plans turned out to be, by far, the best of the three novels. Unlike the two others, virtually all the pieces of the puzzle found their place. A few plot holes appeared by the end, holes rapidly forgiven thanks to a moving epilogue.

In the end, The Best Laid Plans is certainly in the top three of the murder mysteries I red in years. Hopefully, Anne White will keep dragging the charming Lake George community she created into many more murder mysteries.

"A smart, sassy sleuth, witty dialogue, ingenious plotting and a vibrant sense of place are the ingredients in Anne White's latest stew of malice and murder on the shores of Lake George. Get ready for a feast from start to thrilling finish.
Nancy Means Wright, author MAD COW NIGHTMARE, tHE PEA SOUP POISONINGS.