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Reticence of Ravens - M. M. Gornell, Author

Reticence of Ravens – Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh Repeat

‘Her hands were in her lap, clasped tight, as if she were a child being forced to sit quietly in church. Her yellow cotton sundress, styled to recall a much different era with its puffed sleeves and ribbon sash, was covered in blood – and even in the muted light of Hugh’s living room, the now dry blood was a vulgar brownish-red and painful to look at. “The nuns at Holy Trinity believe all good Catholics go to heaven when they die,” LoraLee said, her voice low, soft, and accepting. “Their souls live forever. Eternal.” She smiled.
“The nuns also said pretty much everyone has to go to purgatory first.” Then she fell silent; and Hugh let her be.’

LoraLee Turner’s father has been killed and she is the best, and only, suspect. So why is she sitting in Hubert James Champion, III's living room? That is a question he too needs answered. Apparently, LoraLee’s housekeeper, Marsha Portson, was present when the murder was committed and felt that Hugh was the only person she could trust to help this woman/child that she had taken care of for years and had grown to love as her own. And Mojave County Assistant Sheriff – Audrey Boyes, didn’t seem to mind Marsha’s vote of confidence for this man she had known for just over a year but would like to know a little better. Actually,
everyone wanted to know a little more about Hugh. Starting with, why would a psychologist from Chicago move to the Mojave to become a desert rat?

Hugh does have a past that he plans to keep to himself, but when he looks into LoraLee’s eyes, he knows he can’t just walk away. He moved to this god forsaken place to get away from life and it’s everyday problems only to find you can’t run away. There’s always someone out there that will find you and bring your problems back to you. And that’s what his cousin Della’s ex-husband does when he decides to open an antique store in a neighboring town. And then there is Audrey’s deputy Neil Knight who feels he should have been made Assistant Sheriff. Neil is determined to make both Audrey and Hugh look bad, stepping him into not only the Assistant position but also into politics higher up. If that isn’t enough, Audrey’s brother Ted is an FBI agent who transferred to California and is searching for a group of robbers that he feels have connections in the area.

So, as pieces start fitting together and parts of Hugh’s past are revealed, I come to the conclusion that I have this story pegged, only to find a new curve in the road. This story really kept me on my toes. I knew there had to be a connection to the murders that end up taking place but M. M. Gornell kept it just out of my touch throughout the whole book. Great job! This was a very enjoyable twister!

This is the second book I've ready by M. M. Gornell. The first one was Death of the Perfect Man and I'm impatiently waiting on her next.

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com