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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scumble River's Favorite Psychologist Learns that Home Remodelling Can Be Murder, August 12, 2006
Set just three months after the previous Scumble River mystery "Murder of a Smart Cookie", this latest entry in Denise Swanson's fun mystery series finds school psychologist Skye Denison settling into the old house which she inherited from Alma Griggs. Of course, the house needs a LOT of work, so Skye has hired a remodelling contractor named Beau Hamilton to make the necessary repairs. Skye isn't at all happy with Beau's progress on the house remodelling, though, and then she returns to her home on a Friday evening only to discover a mortally wounded Beau Hamilton unconscious in a boat tied to her dock. When Beau is pronounced dead, Skye quickly finds herself as Sheriff Peterson's number one suspect in his murder.
In addition to trying to clear herself of Beau's murder, as always Skye has a very busy and complicated personal life which adds to the enjoyable story line. In the previous book, Skye and her boyfriend Simon Reid had called it quits, and now Skye is dating Scumble River police chief Wally Boyd. Only Skye and Simon's mothers are both scheming to bring Skye and Simon back together again. Also, Skye's beloved cat Bingo has gone missing, and Skye contines to search for him in the woods surrounding her house. And Skye's brother Vince has a secret that he won't even share with Skye. These mysteries are further compounded by mysterious break-ins to Skye's house, where she can tell that someone has been in the house but nothing appears to be stolen. All these story lines are nicely tied together in the conclusion to this well-crafted mystery..
As with all the other books in this series, "Murder of a Real Bad Boy" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. This story really builds on the previous stories in the series, and if you haven't read those, I would recommend reading them first. You will thoroughly enjoy your visit to the town of Scumble River.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good mystery., October 25, 2006
Murder of a Real Bad Boy is the eight installment in Denise Swanson's Scumble River Mystery series featuring Skye Denison who has a penchant for finding dead bodies and solving mysteries. Just when Skye has had it with her very sexy contractor, Beau Hamilton, and his haphazard way of repairing her home she finds him murdered practically in her back yard. Having a murder victim discovered on her property puts Skye in close proximity to the police chief and forces her to deal with the attraction they have felt for each other for nearly twenty years which is hard to ignore since they are both currently single. While balancing her busy duties as the school psychologist Skye manages to date the police chief, get locked into a basement with her ex-boyfriend, and investigate the murder of a real bad boy!
**** Join Skye in her latest murder investigation adventure in Scumble River. This story is a fun and enjoyable read that keeps you turning the pages. ****
Reviewed by Barbara Stabler.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vote Early - Vote Often!, August 24, 2006
Here's another fun and witty little lite cozy murder mystery featuring Skye Dennison and her friends and family. This time, our hapless heroine Skye is having problems, big bad problems, with the contractor she hired to renovate and repair the house she inherited in the last installment. And then he winds up dead. Now what to do?
Author Denise Swanson, herself a School Psychologist in Illinois, was paying attention in writing class when the teacher told them to "Write what you know!" The results work. The reader need not read all the books in this series in order - Swanson artfully gives new readers the background and returning readers a refresher course - but why miss all the fun back down on the farm? The plot and pace are perky. The style's bright and breezy.
In my review of the previous book, I warned you to "expect a `What's it gonna be? Him or Me?'" in this book and, as foretold, Skye's dilemma is Now. Because the fictional Scumble River is close to very, often too, real Chicago, I urge all readers of this series to do what old (not Richie! I mean "King") Mayor Richard J. Daley The First would urge you to do:
Vote early!
Vote often!
for Wally (as long as he, too, doesn't have a crazier-than-bat-guano Momma)
right here. Tell Denise who you wanna see!
If you live in a small town, or used to, you KNOW some of these characters, or some characters just like `em. Maybe you CAN go home again - at least within the friendly confines of this smart series. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
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