Catherine Finger
Elk Lake Publishing
May 2017
Print ISBN 978-1946638113
$12.99
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About the Book
A Dead Body, A Cryptic Clue—Will Jo
Oliver Solve the Riddle in Time? Police Chief Jo Oliver needed a little time to
herself. But when her escape to Wisconsin turns deadly, she teams up with FBI
agent Nick Vitarello, hoping to catch the Bow Tie Killer. Their romantic past
and complicated present leads them into uncharted territory as they match wits
with a psychopath bent on destroying everything they hold dear.
My Review
The third installment of the Jo
Oliver mystery thrillers takes place in Wisconsin. In this story, Jo, or Josie
to her friends, is ordered to take some vacation time after a harrowing run-in with
a murderer and near death experience. Her vacation ends abruptly on the sixth
hole of an early-morning solitary round of golf when she runs after a cap sailing
in the wind and traces it back to its owner, buried upright at the edge of an
Indian mound.
This is the first book of the series
for me. I stop trying to figure out what I’d missed with all the graphic
references and obvious romance, and just started to read the current mystery.
Apparently Chief Jo has an active romantic life and is widowed, and is
well-known to several branches and members of law enforcement. She grew up in
Wisconsin and is taking some R&R on inherited property which abuts a golf
course. She also has a cabin in the woods and close friends. After a reference
to Michelle Obama, I wasn’t sure about racial identity, but that didn’t seem to
be part of the story.
Jo had gotten involved in the past
with the FBI, and one agent in particular, a gorgeous agent named Nick. She has
mentors and friends and also sometime in the not-too-distant past became a
Christian. Her golf course victim, she learns, is one of a bizarre series of
crimes targeting specific profiles of people. With her friend the
local sheriff who has a romantic and lengthy friendly interest in Jo, and the
FBI love interest agent, Jo helps hunt down the killer, but not without nearly
falling prey a couple of times.
Told in first person throughout, the
character is a sassy, lovestruck gal with a reputation of being able to
befriend and pray through danger-fraught situations. The romantic angles seem
pronounced in this mystery, and those who prefer their Christian mysteries pure
and chaste will need to put on blinders for some heavy duty but fairly clean
kissing and lots of thinking about kissing, as well as alcohol use. Some of the
characters seems like filler, like Jo’s Wisconsin neighbors, though I’m sure
they were more important in the earlier books. When using real names and
places, it’s always best to use real geography. If you happen to live in the
area mentioned in the book, like I do, you may not appreciate unnecessary
liberties taken with the setting.
Readers of spicy, dicey mysteries
featuring lots of romantic angles and some procedural detective work will enjoy
the Jo Oliver series. The first two books are Shattered By Death and Cleansed By Death.
About the Author
Catherine Finger is recently retired from a wonderful career in public education. Follow her on Facebook, CatherineFingerAuthor, and Twitter, @BeJoOliver.
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