What Abby Doesn't Know

RE: Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins

I've been surfing around Kate Collins website
katecollinsbooks.com and found an interesting page called "What Abby Doesn't Know". It's under the "Secrets" tab. How funny!

I loved the part about Abby's assistant Grace Bingham meeting Elvis back in 1958 and how she secretly believes Graceland was named after her. What a hoot!

A Natural Snoop

RE: Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins

That's what Abby's cousin Jillian calls Abby: a natural snoop. Not very flattering, but true. It's a trait that many female sleuths seem to have.

One potential suspect in the murder of Jack Snyder is a man named Richard Davis. Richard is dating Grace Bingham, an employee of Abby's at Bloomers flower shop. Grace is naturally upset and asks for Abby's help in investigating the murder. I suspect that Abby would do it anyway without Grace asking, but this just gives her an excuse. So Abby interviews Richard and it turns out that Jack used to work for him. Also turns out that Jack embezzled $25,000 from Richard's company and Richard vowed he would teach Jack 'a lesson'. Abby says that the police could misinterpret that statement. Richard replies that he didn't do anything wrong.

However, Richard does not have an alibi for the time that Jack was murdered.

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Another Dead Body

RE: Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins

Before the bride & groom can say “I Do”, there is a loud commotion in the back row - Jillian’s uncle Josiah Turner is punching a man named Jack Snyder. It seems Jack got Josiah’s daughter Melanie pregnant and then refused to acknowledge the child.

Eventually order is restored and the wedding continues. During the ceremony Abby steps outside and finds a body near the gazebo. It turns out to be none other than Jack Snyder and yep, he’s dead.

Josiah and Melanie are suspects of course, but we find out that Jack was recently released from prison and had a history of arson and theft. Hmm, the plot thickens...

Dearly Depotted

Next up on my reading list is "Dearly Depotted" by Kate Collins. This book is third in the series about young Indiana florist Abby Knight. This series is fast becoming one of my favorites.

Abby is fresh out of law school - by way of flunking out. She's smart and spunky. Her flower shop is named Bloomers (catchy name) and she is always scrambling for new customers so she can pay her bills. She has a knack for finding dead bodies and for solving the crime. She fantasizes about her new friend, hunky Marco Salvare, who owns a restaurant down the street from Bloomers. He is a former cop and part-time private investigator and the perfect crime-solving partner for Abby.

In Dearly Depotted, Abby is a bridesmaid in her cousin Jillian's wedding. Jillian has a habit of backing out of her previous engagements and since Abby is doing the flowers for this wedding, she is nervous that Jillian will call off the wedding once again. But Abby can breathe a sigh of relief since the wedding goes as planned.

Well, not quite......



Photos courtesy Ebay and stock.xchng

Oops, I goofed

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Well I discovered that I misspelled Goldy's name all throughout my posts. I have Goldi and it should be Goldy. I think it's because I used to work with a Goldi several years ago. Ironically she was a red-head, and I don't think a natural one either. Nice lady though and I wonder how she's doing now.

Since I'm done with Sweet Revenge, it's time for a new book I can read on my lunch break. I chose Kate Collins "Dearly Depotted" and I'll be writing about that in my next few posts.

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Done with "Sweet Revenge"

I've finished "Sweet Revenge" by Diane Mott Davidson. The last chapter was a real page turner and we discover, along with Goldi, "Who Done It". I had the wrong suspect, but that's OK. I can't always be right - HA!

I must say that at times the story moved very slowly and it seemed like there was a lot of 'filler'.

Anyway, I won't reveal who killed Drew Wellington because I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else. And we do discover the secret about Sandee Brisbane and learn more about the stolen maps.

Revenge is not sweet after-all: it's sour.

As with every Goldi book, there are several recipes included with the book. I have not tried any of them yet but I hope to some day. The “Got-A-Hot-Date Bars” sound quite interesting!

You can buy the book at Amazon.com:

Who Done It?

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

I’m close to finishing this book. I have my hunch as to “who done it”. There are quite a few suspects in this book.

Goldi’s detective-husband Tom is investigating, and it almost seems like he is collaborating with her. He talks about the details of the case with her and swears her to secrecy. I don’t recall his character doing that in previous books, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read one in this series. I imagine that might be unethical in real life, but then again Goldi does have a track record for solving the crime.

In the meantime I’ve started another Nancy Drew book, The Ringmaster’s Secret. This one was written in 1953. The main characters here are circus people, led by a cruel ringmaster named Reinhold Kroon. Nancy has already had a couple of run-ins with him while taking six-year old neighbor Teddy to see them setting up the circus.

Dogged Determination

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Now I remember why I admire Goldi, in spite of her expresso-chugging, workaholic hyperactivity.  She's very persistent and reminds me of a bloodhound following a scent.  Goldi is determined to find the truth even though she puts herself in peril.  In this regard Goldi is like many of her fellow female-sleuths in fiction-land out there. 
 
In "Sweet Revenge" she thinks she sees Sandee Brisbane (who is supposed to be dead) and follows her in friend Marla's car.  In so doing, she smashes up the car and walks away with minor bruises and cuts.  (Marla is quite upset but forgives Goldi.  Marla is very wealthy and says she will just go and buy another car.) 
 
Goldi also wanders around a snowy creek-bed to look at a murder scene.  The police are also there and in order to avoid detection, she climbs up a hill overlooking the creek.  Luck is not with her however and she takes a tumble, and of course is spotted by the police.  She is well known to them since her husband Tom Schulz is a police detective - but they shake their heads anyway and tell her to not get involved.  Tom tells her also to stay out of it and let the police handle it. 
 
But they all know she won't listen to them - she has to follow her hunches!