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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book!, December 9, 2001
Skye Denison was a school psychologist. This meant many parents got angry at Skye whenever their kids did something wrong at school or their child showed signs of being abused from home. Being quizzical was necessary in Skye's job, so when she found her grandmother dead and a few curious items wrong, she made sure an autopsy was done. The rest of the family balked at the idea until foul play was found. The whole family seemed to be selfish, greedy, and full of secrets. Instead of wanting to find the killer, they all wanted Skye to stop poking her nose where it did not belong so they could hurry up and divide all the land and belongings! The more family secrets Skye uncovered, she more she was amazed! Grandmother Leofanti had kept a lot of the family history silent. She had only recently began telling Skye some of it. There were a few problems going on at the school as well. So when some very cruel pranks are pulled on Skye, no one was sure if it was the work of the killer or a disgruntled parent. ***** This story is AWESOME! Many suspects, many clues, and many problems. This one will test the wits of the best mystery readers, no doubt! It is well written and the plot begins rolling almost immediately. The author captured my attention (as the reader) in the opening sentence. That always impresses me. Personally, I hate to go several chapters and STILL wonder what the heck the book is about or if it will ever get better! This one starts off with a bang and continues non-stop. Even better, the story is complete, but Skye's life is left open and ready for the next mystery. (In fact, I understand "Murder Of A Sleeping Beauty" will be out around April 2002. ) This looks to be a very promising series of mystery books. Do not start this one until you can settle down comfortably with no interruptions for at least a few hours. Have a drink nearby, because once you begin, you will not want to stop reading. Highly recommended! *****
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Small-Town Cozy!, July 11, 2003
In the 2nd book in the Scumble River mystery series, we see amateur sleuth, Skye Denison working hard at fitting into her hometown and finishing up the school year. Skye is a school psychologist, returning home to live and work after humiliating herself while delivering a valedictorian speech 12 years prior. It seems that Skye left with a chip on her shoulder about "the small minds of those in a small town" and has to return home with her tail tucked firmly between her legs after losing her last job. Since she left her last job in disgrace (although it was not her fault), the only job she can get is in the school system that she shunned when she left town. While trying to re-establish herself in her hometown, she helped to solve a previous case that cleared her brother of murder. In this case, Skye has been spending a lot of time with her grandmother to re-establish broken ties and to learn more about family history. When her grandmother dies suddenly after being given a clean bill of health from her doctor, Skye gets suspicious. And when she learns that her grandmother's caretaker has vanished, family members start to hypothesize that she murdered the grandmother. While suspecting everyone (including her own family members) Skye determines that she will ferret out some old family secrets and in doing so will prove who killed her grandmother. Add to this that Skye is having difficulties with some students at school, and you have an interesting, engaging cozy mystery! I enjoyed this book much more than I had the first book in this series. I felt that the first book was valuable for its character development but did not offer as much of an interesting read as this one did. I like the characters in Scumble River, and enjoyed all of the relationships between family members as described in this book. I also enjoyed the fact that Skye faced a huge ethical dilemma, and it was interesting to see how she would handle this situation. If you like cozy mysteries involving small towns, give this series a try. The first book in the series is "Murder of a Small Town Honey". Enjoy!
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast, Fun Read, May 14, 2001
Scumble River, Illinois school psychologist, Skye Denison, knew something was wrong when she went to visit her grandmother after school, that day. Several hawks were circling the farmhouse, something she'd never seen before. The front door was locked, the declawed cat, Bingo, was outside and her grandmother's live-in nurses aid, Mrs Jankowski, had disappeared. But the last thing she ever expected to find was Grandma Leofanti, dead, lying in bed with the sheet pulled up over her face. Though strong as an ox, Grandma had been slowly losing her mind and Skye had taken advantage of these daily visits to talk with her about the past and learn the family's history. Her relatives are more than willing to chalk up Grandma's unexpected death to natural causes, but Skye insists on an autopsy that concludes Grandma Leofanti was murdered. Now as a very determined Skye tries to find out who would kill a "sweet old lady" and why, uncooperative relatives are stonewalling her efforts and long held secrets start popping up in everyone's backyard..... Murder of a Sweet Old Lady is a well paced, entertaining mystery full of twists, turns and surprises that will keep you turning pages to the end. Ms Swanson's writing is crisp, her characters, engaging and her scenes, vivid and realistic. Easily read in one sitting, this is perfect light summer reading, great for the beach or long car and plane rides. For those new to Skye Denison and the Scumble River series, start at the beginning with Murder of a Small-Town Honey. For those of you who are already fans, this second mystery doesn't disappoint.
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