by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this review on how to enter to win a copy of Deadly Forecast. You will also find a link to purchase the book–a portion of the sales goes to help KRL.

Abby and Dutch have been planning the new house, new focus on jobs and their marriage for a while now. It got derailed when the venue burned down and although Abby and Dutch were both tempted to elope, Abby’s sister Cat has invested so much time and money in the wedding, they feel they just can’t. Now Cat’s gone all out and found a new venue. She’s also gone round the bend in details. She’s invited everyone on Abby’s cell contact list. Nice for us to see old characters again, but Abby’s a little overwhelmed.

Black and white swans, the Dachshunds as ring bearers and little people with bows and arrows (and, no, it’s not kids) installed in a tree to add atmosphere? There seem to be 1,001 details that Abby and/or Dutch have to sign off on, but their attention is on the bombing, now plural, that happened in odd places. A bomb automatically gets the attention of terrorist watch groups but who would target an almost empty mall or a small beauty shop?

The FBI wants Abby’s psychic help on the case, but she’s had a feeling from the beginning that any help she might give would taint the case. Finally, the feeling that Dutch is in danger is overwhelming and she agrees.
It’s only afterward she figures out that her involvement is causing the danger, not preventing it.

This book is set up differently than the previous ten books. MJ, a character we met before (she can see ghosts and communicate with them) has been invited to the wedding. The chapters alternate between MJ’s part of the story and Abby’s. This can get confusing if not done well, but Laurie does it very well indeed. It was nice to see MJ’s character back.

I did miss Abby giving private readings (like she had time) and having a more specific sense of what was wrong but as she’s said before, when it’s her own life involved the psychic powers just don’t cooperate.

I did figure out the identity of the bomber but not why. It was late in the book and didn’t spoil a thing to know.
Be warned: once you get to the part where MJ and Abby’s chapters fuse into one, there’s no putting it down, no matter what time of night it is. Remind yourself to breathe.

Fatal Fortune, the eleventh in the series will be available in July. Laurie also writes the Ghost Hunter series.

To enter to win a copy of Deadly Forecast, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Forecast,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 5, 2014. U.S. residents only.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her new one Bananas Foster.