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A review by cj_mo_2222
Dead of Winter by Wendy Corsi Staub
4.0
Bella Jordan unwittingly sees a murderer dump a dead body into a lake across from the Valley View, the bed and breakfast she helps manager. The killer is scared off at that moment, but Bella could be in danger. Like Bella, her young son Max's best friend, Jiffy Arden, was also in the wrong place at the wrong time and has disappeared. Some feel the independent boy, who has a free-spirited mom, has just wandered off. However, Max is positive his friend has been kidnapped and the longer he's been gone, the more it looks like Jiffy, who had premonitions of the event, is also in grave danger.
"Dead of Winter" is the third in the author's Lily Dale series aimed at adults, which is separate from her young adult series. The book has a nice mixture of portraying ordinary small-town life, with the sense of community as well as the gossip, with the paranormal since many of the town's residents have psychic abilities. New readers will feel at home in Lily Dale and those who have read the prior two books will be happy to see the recently widowed Bella settling into her new life in Lily Dale and trying to move on with her life. I also enjoyed getting to know Jiffy's mother Misty better and like her much more after learning more about her.
The main plot about the murder and Jiffy's disappearance is suspenseful. I was frustrated that the investigation drug out more than it needed to because characters wouldn't listen to each other. I found it strange that in a town filled with psychics, there were so many skeptics when someone had a lead on the case based on their intuition. There was a side-plot with one of the town's psychics, Pandora, and her clients that could have served as nice comic relief, but became too over-the-top and got annoying. Luckily, that's a small part of the book, but the rest is interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed the book and hope this unique series continues.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
"Dead of Winter" is the third in the author's Lily Dale series aimed at adults, which is separate from her young adult series. The book has a nice mixture of portraying ordinary small-town life, with the sense of community as well as the gossip, with the paranormal since many of the town's residents have psychic abilities. New readers will feel at home in Lily Dale and those who have read the prior two books will be happy to see the recently widowed Bella settling into her new life in Lily Dale and trying to move on with her life. I also enjoyed getting to know Jiffy's mother Misty better and like her much more after learning more about her.
The main plot about the murder and Jiffy's disappearance is suspenseful. I was frustrated that the investigation drug out more than it needed to because characters wouldn't listen to each other. I found it strange that in a town filled with psychics, there were so many skeptics when someone had a lead on the case based on their intuition. There was a side-plot with one of the town's psychics, Pandora, and her clients that could have served as nice comic relief, but became too over-the-top and got annoying. Luckily, that's a small part of the book, but the rest is interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed the book and hope this unique series continues.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.