Let There Be Suspects

Let There Be Suspects is my first introduction to this author's mystery books, but the second book in this Ministry is Murder series.

Heroine Aggie Sloan-Wilcox is a minister's wife. Apparently, in the preceding book, she was involved in a murder investigation, so she's in a bit of hot water with at least some members of her husband's congregation. Her sisters are in town for Christmas, as is her mother Junie, whose free-spirit ways endear her to her family, but might cause a few raised eyebrows.

Still, Aggie's dealing with everything well, until her mother's "surprise" arrives: Ginger, their manipulative erstwhile foster sister. Ginger is immediately up to her old ways, but Junie seems oblivious... until Ginger is discovered, murdered, show more at the outdoor nativity scene, and Aggie's sister Sid is the prime suspect.

The characters are entertaining and vivid, and the resolution of the mystery was logical and satisfying. The setting was realistic, as were the family dynamics. Aggie's family is neither too good to be true nor so quirky that they're cartoonish. I particularly appreciated the portrayal of the small neighborhood church, as a nice change from the judgmental hypocrisy that shows up all too often.

I'm not sure how Aggie will fare over a longer series--it's a small town, and that's always tricky in a mystery series--you start thinking the town's a death trap. But for now, it's a fun, light read, and a nicely seasonal one. show less

This is book two in a series featuring minister’s wife Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, who cannot help but snoop whenever she feels her family is threatened. This time a Christmas Open House is overshadowed by a family reunion got awry. Without consulting her, Aggie’s mom, Junie, has invited a former foster sister to join the festivities. Ginger has always been a manipulative liar, and her target was always the youngest sister, Sid. But they are adults now, and Ginger arrives with her new husband, and tales of her success as a TV personality and cookbook author. Sid’s old jealousy won’t be easily assuaged, however, especially when she catches Ginger kissing her boyfriend. A screech, a shove, and a shattered punch bowl quickly end the party. show more But before Ed and Aggie can help everyone arrive at a reasonable truce, Ginger turns up dead, and Sid is the logical suspect.

This is a pretty typical cozy. I like Aggie and Lucy (her best friend and sleuthing sidekick). In fact I like all the recurring characters and wouldn’t mind knowing more about them. However Richards took a very long time to set up the relationships in this book; the murder doesn’t happen until page 90, and not much exciting happens after that. Still, it’s a fast read. There are plenty of suspects and clues, including some red herrings to lead the reader astray. I definitely guessed the murderer several times (each time wrongly), before all was revealed. The ending felt rather anti-climactic, however. show less

Minister's wife Aggie Sloan-Wilcox has her hands full for the holidays. In addition to fulfilling church responsibilities, she also finds herself the hostess of a surprise family reunion assembled by her mother, Junie. When Aggie and her sisters, Vel and Sid, were young, their mother had taken in a young girl, Ginger, whose mother often neglected her. Ginger was a difficult girl to like, and her adult personality apparently hasn't improved any. When Ginger is found dead on Christmas Eve, Aggie sets out to find the murderer in order to clear her family members from suspicion.

The book seemed a little thin on suspects. Even though I deduced the identity of the murderer fairly early on, the means and motive remained mysteries until the show more end.

This is the second book in a series. Although I haven't yet read the first book, I didn't feel like I was missing any key facts about the main characters. The events of the first book are mentioned occasionally in this book, but the references are vague enough that they aren't really "spoilers."

Aggie and her family and friends are all likable, and Emerald Springs, Ohio, seems like a nice place to visit in spite of a murder rate that may rival Cabot Cove's should the series continue for some time. If you like Katherine Hall Page's Faith Fairchild mysteries or Rett MacPherson's Torie O'Shea mysteries, you'll probably enjoy this series, too. show less

Opening Sentence: "...Given a chance to make a Christmas wish, most people ask for peace on earth..."

With the yellow crime scene tape finally gone from their front porch after the end of "Blessed is the Busybody", Aggie Sloan-Wilcox and her minister husband think they can resume their lives. That's why in an attempt to put that whole finding a naked body on the front porch thing behind her, She is hosting a Christmas open house for everyone in the congregation. Unfortunately her two sister's and her mother are coming - and her mother brings the despised "Ginger" with her. Ginger is a foster sister who has a way of making enemies wherever she goes. She manipulative and controlling while appearing sweet on the outside and Aggie's sister, show more Sid, was at the receiving end of most of the nastiness.

When Ginger turns up dead in the Nativity scene - Sid becomes the main suspect. Aggie is not sure that the police understand that Sid could not possibly be a murderer so she decides to look into the case herself.

I love this series - Emilie Richards combines unique believable characters with a page-turning plot and lots of humour. Love the series!!!! show less

This is the first book by this author that I have read. It was an easy read. I read it over a 2 day period while waiting at a hospital for my husbands treatments to be completed. Positive story with characters that I "cared" about by the time the book ended. I will certainly look for more of her work to read.

This is one of those books that I just never really "got into." I'm not sure if it was because I tried reading it too long after Christmas, if I was in the mood to read a different genre, or if it was a genuine disinterest in the book. It really surprised me because I've read some of Richards' Appalachian books and really liked them. In this book, Aggie, a minister's wife, sets out to investigate the death of her foster sister in an effort to free her sister from suspicion. I am not going to rate this book because I can't really say that I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that it was really a plot issue. I think it was more of a "reading at the wrong point in my life" issue.

We get to see more of Aggie's family. So it makes sense that she is who she is. They are a lovable, kooky lot.