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Book Review: 'A sporting Murder, An Eve Appel Mystery by Lesley A. Diehl
In A Sporting Murder by Lesley A. Diehl, we are introduced to Eve and her friend Madeleine, and their endeavors to run a consignment shop in Sabal Bay, Florida. Cowboys, swamps and alligators are the main scenery. On a cruise with Eve’s detective boyfriend Alex, and Madeline’s new friend David they are unaccountably accosted by David’s neighbor, a very nasty character, leaving more questions than answers. Eve is hooked, she wants more answers, and she is willing to investigate on her own if necessary.
Both David and his neighbor own a sport-hunting reserve, so Alex tries to get her to put it behind them as professional jealousy. Yet when a dead body shows up on David’s land with every clue pointing at him as the murderer, Eve takes a stance. There is something fishy about the whole thing, and the encounter on the water with his neighbor isn’t the only issue. The neighbor’s wife has now also effectively had Eve and Madeleine’s business vacated. She is opening her own shop, and the line has been drawn in the sand.
As David molders in jail, Alex and Eve work at trying to get to the bottom of the murder he is being charged with. Can they find the real answers before it is too late? Eve and Madeleine take their own business on the road as well; they have clients to take care of. What is it with all the ugliness behind the sport-hunting business that has everyone up in arms?
Diehl gives us characters with strength and humor. Eve is a great mix of intelligence, charm and minx, and exhibits the tendency to butt in where it may not be comfortable. She also has a few friends in low places that are there for her regardless of what she needs. Her friend Alex is in no way immune to her charm but is also aware of her tendencies.
The situation is serious and the murder is odd, yet the mix of danger, fun and mystery keeps you turning the pages.
If you enjoy mystery, romance and a little bit of crazy you will enjoy
A Sporting Murder. Eve Appel is a great character and her relationships keep the fun and mystery rolling in unexpected directions. This would be a great book for your library especially for the cozy mystery fan.
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Lesley A. Diehl's Web Site:
http://www.lesleyadiehl.com/
Lesley A. Diehl's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lesley.diehl.1?fref=ts
Lesley A. Diehl's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LesleyDiehl
Lesley A. Diehl's Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3414925.Lesley_A_Diehl
Lesley A. Diehl's Blog:http://lesleyadiehl.com/blog/
A Sporting Murder Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25506068-a-sporting-murderTribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186
A Sporting Murder blog tour site:
http://asportingmurder.blogspot.com
Lesley A. Diehl's Bio:
Lesley A. Diehl retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida--cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office. Back north, she devotes her afternoons to writing and, when the sun sets, relaxing on the bank of her trout stream, sipping tea or a local microbrew.
A Sporting Murder Book Summary:
It's smooth sailing for Eve Appel and her friend Madeleine, owners of Second to None Consignment Shop in rural Florida's Sabal Bay, land of swamps, cowboys, and lots and lots of 'gators. Eve and her detective boyfriend Alex have joined Madeleine and her new beau David Wilson for a pleasure cruise on his boat. But cloudy, dangerous waters lie ahead. A near fatal encounter with Blake Reed, David's supremely nasty neighbor, is soon followed by a shooting death on the dividing line between David and Blake's land. Both men run sport-hunting reserves, but Blake imports "exotics" from Africa and promotes gator killing, while David stays within the law, pointing clients toward the abundant quail and turkey as well as the wild pigs that ravage the landscape. Nevertheless, when a mutual client is killed, it is David who is arrested and charged with murder.
Blake's nastiness is only exceeded by that of his wife, Elvira, who forces Eve and Madeleine out of their shop, intending to replace it with a consignment shop of her own. It seems that bad luck looms over them all, even Eve's brawny and hard-to-resist Miccosukee Indian friend Sammy, whose nephew has disappeared. As the case against David grows stronger and his friends' misfortunes multiply, Eve and her strange and diverse group of friends, including her ex, a mobster, her grandma, and Sammy's extended family, band together to take on the bad guys. But the waters are getting muddier and more troubled, and Eve and Madeleine may end up inundated in every sense of the word.
1 comment:
I know you were tickled by this one from the start, Leslie! I couldn't wait to read your review to see what you thought of it :)
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