Done with "Murder of a Sweet Old Lady" by Denise Swanson

I didn’t intend to finish this book yesterday but I got so involved in it, I couldn’t put it down. Well written and suspenseful - just pulled me right into the story.

Author Denise Swanson’s picture and short bio is on the back inside cover of the paperback. It says she worked as a school psychologist for 17 years. Swanson’s real-life background in the field adds credibility to the story since she can write with authority on exactly what Skye is going through as a school psychologist.

Skye becomes so frustrated doing her job that at one point she takes a ceramic jar she purchased when she graduated from college and throws it against the wall! Not only does she have to try to help the students, but has to deal with their parents and school administrators. She says graduate school and her internship did not prepare her for real life. I can definitely see that!

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

You can buy the book here:

Not Up On Technology

Re: Murder of a Sweet Old Lady by Denise Swanson

It’s really hard to be up on the latest and greatest new technological ‘gadget’, but some people don’t have many gadgets at all. That’s the case with Skye’s parents, May and Jed.

At one point Skye admonishes May about their lack of ownership of technological devices, like a cell phone, answering machine and a computer.

May replies that they’ve gotten along just fine for 35 years without all that. She calls the internet the ‘Sinnernet’ (LOL) and believes that pictures of naked women just come up on the computer automatically when you turn it on.

Skye has learned early on when to end a conversation with her mother, so she decides now is not the time to explain the internet with May.

I personally know people who don’t have cell phones, answering machines or computers. I think their reasons fall into one of two categories: monetary or simplicity of living. A - they don’t think they can afford it, or B - they don’t think they need it.

It’s hard to imagine life today without these gadgets!

Cranky, Crabby & Cantankerous

Re: Murder of a Sweet Old Lady by Denise Swanson

Boy, Skye sure has some nasty relatives. They aren’t very polite or civil toward her. They accuse her of stealing things out of Grandma Leofanti’s house and wonder why she contacted Simon the coroner before she contacted them.

Her cousins go so far as to ‘kidnap’ her - after school they grab her by the arms and force her to ride with them in their car all the way to Grandma’s farm. They don’t believe that Grandma was murdered and think Skye is making it up. They tell her that her loyalties should be toward the family and then they leave her there to walk home!

Fortunately just when she thinks she can’t take another step, a friend drives by and offers a ride to Skye.

Sadly a death in the family can sometimes bring out the worst in people. Old hurts can easily resurface. Family secrets can come out. And greed rears it’s ugly head making people fight for money and steal items from the estate. It’s really too bad. Makes you wonder what's important in life.

Hey, Diddle, Diddle, the Cat and the Riddle

Re: Murder of a Sweet Old Lady by Denise Swanson

This is the title of Chapter One of this book and sets the stage for what is about to happen.

Skye Denison is a school psychologist and each day after school she goes to visit her elderly grandmother, Grandma Leofanti. Grandma Leofanti lives in a farmhouse in the country. She has a live-in caretaker to help her since her mind is not what it used to be but physically she is very healthy.

On this particular day when Skye goes to visit, the caretaker is nowhere to be found. The cat is on the front porch and it is never allowed outside. Skye senses something is wrong and after searching the house finds her grandmother on her bed with the covers pulled up over her head. She is dead, leaving Skye to wonder what is going on and who pulled the covers over her grandmother’s dead body? And why did she die, since Grandma Leofanti’s doctor said there was nothing wrong with her physically?

So Skye has to notify her family and the authorities. Among the first to show up is Skye’s ‘Uncle Charlie’. He is not really her uncle, he is her godfather. All 6-feet, 300 pounds of him. Next up is Simon Reid, the local coroner and funeral home director. Skye is also dating him. (Reminds me of an episode from Season One of the TV show “The Nanny” where Fran the Nanny is dating the funeral director and all the jokes that come out of that situation.)

Anyway Simon and Grandma Leofanti’s doctor do an autopsy and discover that Grandma did not die of natural causes - she was murdered.

Murder of a Sweet Old Lady by Denise Swanson

I just started reading this book. It’s the second in the series featuring female-sleuth Skye Denison of Scumble River, Illinois.

Author Swanson states in the intro of the book that Scumble River is not a real town. A lot of the farmland in Scumble River and it’s surrounding areas is viewed as being hot property by real estate developers. The developers see it as the next bedroom community for Chicago and are after local farmers to buy their land.

For me it’s easy to envision Scumble River as a real place. That’s because I’m from Wisconsin, which is right next door to Illinois. I have relatives in Chicago in fact and have been there several times in my life. Chicago metro is spreading ever outward and into our own backdoor.

And when Ms. Swanson describes how rural neighbors living on the same road can see each other’s farm-homes when the crops are young - well yeah, that’s because a lot of Illinois is pretty flat.



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