Customer Reviews

A Valley to Die For (Something to Die for Series, #1)

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After her husband Amos McCrite dies in a hunting accident, Carrie decides to realize their mutual dream of retiring to a home in the Ozark mountains. There she hopes to prove herself to be a capable woman who can take care of her self. Carrie meets her new neighbor JoAnne Harrington -- a very independently minded woman in her own right. When a stone quarry threatens to turn part of the valley into little more than heaps of gravel, the two women and their neighbors band together to prevent it. That's when someone murders JoAnne. Carrie feels compelled to uncover and bring to justice whoever is responsible. That's when another of her new neighbors, retired Kansas City Police Major Henry King, warns her that she, and not JoAnne, might have been the killer's real target. And that's when Carrie will find out in earnest whether or not she's truly a capable woman who can survive. A Valley To Die For is a smoothly written novel that grips the reader's attention from first page to last, and documents Radine Trees Nehring as a mystery writer whose imagination and talent will win her a large and dedicated readership.

Sometimes we forget just how lovely it can be to discover a new character. Radine Trees Nehring has written a character that has touched my heart. I read A VALLEY TO DIE FOR yesterday and just
smiled when I finished 'cause I know there are several more books in this series for me to enjoy and savor every word. I fell in love with Carrie Culpeper McCrite on page two when I read the following:

"She began to turn slowly, still looking up into the tree tops. She was, she decided, performing a symbolic ritual - turning away from asphalt, traffic, lined-up buildings, and rushing people."

Carrie spoke the feelings I had when we moved to Boone from Atlanta ten years ago and for the rest of the book she continued speaking my feelings for me in a way I'd never be capable.

Ms. Nehring has written one of the loveliest books I've read in a long time. I would not call this a cozy, but a traditional mystery. The sense of place in the lovely Ozarks is, in my opinion, as well crafted as
any I've ever read. As are the characters. I cannot say enough about this book to do it as proudly as it deserves. Y'all - do yourselves a huge favor, and give Ms. Nehring and Carrie a try, if you haven't
already.

A Valley to Die For
Radine Trees Nehring

Carrie has a home in the Ozark Mountains. Her husband has recently died and Carrie has met some nice friends in her new retirement area. JoAnne is Carrie's best friend, a real spitfire. JoAnne ends up murdered and Carrie wants to investigate to find the killer. However, some of the suspects are rather close to home. Carrie is a good amateur detective. There are good secondary characters. My favorite was Fat Cat. Fat Cat was JoAnne's cat, which Carrie ends up with after JoAnne's murder.

There were some good twists and turns in this mystery. The killer was not obvious to the readers. There were enough characters to care about but not enough to become confusing. Fat Cat provided comic relief.


Reviewed by Melissa A. Palmer
November 24, 2007
Melissaenglish72@yahoo.com

This is a very enjoyable and fun story. As a lifelong Ozark native, I enjoyed the local flavor of this book, and I have been in many of the valleys and caves that are re-created in the story. I would have loved for Carrie to meet one of the Ingledews, but that's an entirely different story :-)
Three cheers, and I can't wait to read the rest of these wonderful 'To Die For' stories.

Although I had read DEAR EARTH, this was the first of Ms Nehring's mysteries I have read. It won't be the last.

After reading DEAR EARTH, Dear Earth: A Love Letter from Spring HollowI feel I know her, so I'll refer to the author by her first name. Radine has, with this book, awakened a burning desire for me to get to know more about Carrie McCrite, Henry King, Roger, Shirley, Jason and all the rest of the neighbors in this little community.

As a person who moved from the quiet of a small community to several large cities and finally almost full circle to a very, very rural existence in hills very similar to those described in this novel, I can connect with the characters, the emotions and the lifestyles in Radine's book.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries without a lot of tea (but at least one cat!), and a likable although somewhat naive protagonist who isn't a twenty-something Gen-Xer, you could not do better than picking up one of Radine's mysteries. I know I'll be getting the rest in this series. I couldn't stop with #1!