Customer Reviews

Murder of a Real Bad Boy (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 8)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

In the 8th book in the Scumble River mystery series, Skye Denison, has inherited a large home in desperate need of a makeover. She hires Beau Hamilton, a good looking "bad boy" type based on good looks, excellent recommendations, and evidence of his handiwork around town. Right from the beginning, however, Skye questions her choice of contractor when the work progresses slowly and with large errors. After giving Beau adequate time to fix his lax work ethic and sloppy carpentry, Skye finally decides to fire him and find a new contractor to remodel her home.

Coming home late one evening, she hears what she believes is moaning and investigates. Thinking it could be her missing cat, Bingo, Skye roams around in the woods only to discover the badly injured and bleeding Beau in a boat. After diving into the chilly water and struggling to pull the boat to safety, Skye arrives back at the shoreline to discover her relatives and the authorities have arrived on the scene. Her old nemesis, Sheriff Peterson is there to accuse her of murdering Beau over shoddy workmanship, and her new love interest, Chief Wally Boyd, steps in to defend her. Working to clear her name and find a killer determined to make mischief in her new home, Skye must also decide whether to give old flame, Simon, a second chance, or to move ahead in a new relationship with Wally.

This is a fun, interesting series! I adored the last two installments, and cannot wait for the next book! The only issue that I have with the premise is the fact that the ending of the relationship between Skye and Simon seems to be a bit juvenile (which is the case in many relationships). While reading the book, I just wanted to scream at them to discuss the "other woman" episode, and for them both to stop being so stubborn. I personally don't believe that trust means never having to explain yourself. If Simon had nothing to hide, then why was he so reluctant to talk about it? In any case, this added to the suspense and the drama of the book, and I am hoping to see a resolution in the next installment. However, I vote for Skye to pick Wally...Simon seems too straight-laced and boring for the fun-loving Skye. I am really looking forward to seeing which man Skye will choose...

The first book in the series is called "Murder of a Small-Town Honey". Enjoy!

Skye Denison, full-time school psychologist and part-time sleuth, is in the middle of renovating the old house she inherited in her last adventure, Death of a Smart Cookie, when her contractor turns up dead. He was a hot, hot, hunk, but an awful contractor, and although Skye didn't want him dead, she's happy he's not working for her anymore. Still, even bad boys deserve justice, so when the county sheriff arrests the wrong suspect, Skye is determine to find the real killer.

Meanwhile, Skye has several other mysteries to solve: Who is her brother's latest girlfriend and why is he keeping her under wraps? What did her ex-boyfriend really do on his summer vacation? And is her new house haunted?

As with the other books in the series, the fun is in the relationships. Skye is like a lot of women juggling a job, parents, friends, and still trying to find Mr. Right.

The characters and settings seem real, and the gentle humor never goes over the top. The plotting is fast paced, and the mystery a good puzzle. Take a trip down state to Scumble River, and enjoy!

This book is the further adventures of Sky Dennison. She is having a hard time with her hunky contracter and her cat has come up missing. Plus her brother is just acting weird. She finds her contracter dead before she can fire him and now she is the suspect.
She investigates and finds out he is not the nice guy people have said. He is hiding something, and more than one person is releived he is dead.
What is going on? Why is her house being broken into? Why is the cat missing? Will Simon ever apologize? What is going on with her relatinoship with Wally??
Is her house Haunted??
Find out all these answers in the newest Scumble River mystery.

Denise Swanson does it again. She's created a character that is realistic and fun. This is a series that I don't want to end, I can't wait for the next book.

I really enjoyed this book. Denise kept you guesssing as to who did it! Her characters are always wonderful Well rounded although I found myself wanting to do some serious harm to Sheriff Peterson.

This series is very enjoyable. I had the pleasure to meet Denise in person on my last cruise. It was a pleasure to discuss her books with her. One of her future books will take place on a cruise ship so she was doing research while on board. She did say that her character will marry so I am looking forward to her future books.

Denise Swanson makes her character of Skye Denison really click with readers. I totally relate to Skye's boyfriend problems. I can see a little of my mother in her meddling Mom, May.

This mystery starts us off with a look at Skye's totally handsome handyman Beau Hamilton. You get the impression he is a real Don Juan with Adonis good looks. But as in all mysteries, he ends up dead and it looks like the county sherriff is going to blame Skye for the crime since she found the body. Skye follows the clues but does not figure out the killer until he finds her to kill. She does, however, figure out where her missing cat, Bingo, is.

I was a little distracted in this book by her forced romance with Wally (whom I am not a fan of). And perturbed with Simon's unreasonable refusal to see he did something wrong.

All in all, though, it was another great book. Oh, and I was glad to see her friend Loretta back in this book - I really like her character.