by Lorie Lewis Ham

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Not As It Seems, along with a link to order the book.

In the latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree book by Marilyn Meredith, Tempe and her husband Hutch get to travel to the California coast for her son’s wedding. But as always, murder seems to follow Tempe wherever she goes.

When the couple arrives in Morro Bay, they quickly learn that the preparations for the wedding aren’t going as well as they expected. Her son Blair tells them that his bride to be, Amaresh, needs Tempe’s help as her best friend has disappeared. Her friend Kathy also happens to be a bridesmaid and Amaresh isn’t sure she wants to proceed with the wedding until she is found. So while this is not Tempe’s jurisdiction, she does her best to find out what happened to Kathy while the wedding preparations and celebrations continue. Her investigation leads her to the licensed care facility where Kathy worked, and some of her coworkers soon become key suspects. Tempe also finds out that things weren’t so great between Kathy and her boyfriend.

Tempe’s investigation ends up taking up most of her time until the wedding and leads her through many twists and turns. She also has more than one spiritual experience at Morro Rock that she is sure is somehow connected to Kathy’s disappearance, and what she believes to actually have been her murder. The title definitely holds true in that things are not as they seem.

This series is always a quick, fun, and interesting read. Marilyn brings Tempe’s Native American heritage into each book, and this time Tempe and Hutch are away from their home and we get to enjoy exploring the Morro Bay area with them. I love the relationship between Tempe and Hutch, who is a pastor. He has his issues with some parts of Tempe’s heritage, but is always there to love and support her no matter what.

I highly recommend Not As It Seems for a fun, interesting, mystery with great characters and relationships.

To enter to win a copy of Not As It Seems, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “seems,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 12, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.