Review: Nearly Departed in Deadwood

Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Humorous Mystery with paranormal aspects
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of mystery series with “spunky” heroines who have zany adventures
Trigger Warnings: Really big jerk co-worker (sexist, smarmy butthead), missing children, child murder

My Thoughts: I moved this series into my review queue based upon Kriss Morton’s enthusiastic recommendation. I had picked up each of these books as they went on promotion through KDP prior to these recommendations. I emphasize this to point out that a) I picked up these books on my own and b) I’m reviewing them because of a friend’s recommendations. I also have the first book in her Jackrabbit Junction series, Dance of the Winnebagos.

I’ve always heard how mothers’ instincts to protect their young will give them an advantage in various situations, but I always notice in books like this where the main character is a mother, she becomes completely batty when it comes to her children. I mean, the mere hint of danger and she’s a mewling mess? How will that give her an advantage? What will happen if something actually does happen, rather than just the idea that it could?

I have to say in a lot of ways this book was not at all what I was in the mood for, so I probably should have just moved on, but I loved Harvey so very, very much. That old coot is just the sort of crazy dude that I enjoy hanging out with, and every time he was there he completely stole the scene. I liked Doc, too, although I could tell from Violet’s initial and frequent hostility toward him that he’ll probably eventually end up being a love interest. It’s one of those tropes in books featuring romance that bother me a lot, the hostility between love interests. I’ve never understood it. But then again, my mind doesn’t work like a normal person’s mind, so there you go...

All in all, I think folks who enjoy amateur-sleuth mystery series with a female heroine and some minor paranormal aspects will enjoy this series. I probably would have enjoyed it more at a different time; as it was, I just really wasn’t in the mood for this sort of thing, and I believe I’ll hold off on finishing the series until I’m in a different mood.

Synopsis: Little girls are vanishing from Deadwood, South Dakota. Fearing her daughter might be next, single mom, Violet Parker, is desperate to find the monster behind the abductions. With her savings dwindling and just three weeks left to sell her first house or lose her Realtor job, Violet is ecstatic when a handsome jeweler hires her to sell his century-old, Victorian masterpiece, until she sees the dilapidated dwelling. Now, if she could just convince her only buyer to stop rejecting vintage homes as if they're haunted. Short on time and long on worry, she refuses to give up her dream of a fresh start in Deadwood. But with a malicious coworker trying to get her fired, a secret admirer sending her creepy messages, and a sexy stranger hiding skeletons in his closet, will Violet end up as one of Deadwood's dearly departed?

Series information: This is the first book in the Deadwood Mystery series. There are currently three books available in the series, with a fourth one in development.
Book 2: Optical Delusions in Deadwood, published in 2011
Book 3: Dead Case in Deadwood, published in 2012
Book 4: Better off Dead in Deadwood, scheduled to be published in 2013
There is also a short story, called Seeing Trouble, the first in the Deadwood Mystery Shorts.

Disclosure: I picked up this book from Amazon on KDP promotion because they looked interesting and were set in South Dakota, relatively close to where I grew up in eastern Montana. No review has been requested. I am fairly sure I’ve never even spoken to the author. All opinions are my own.



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