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Fiction. Mystery. HTML:After over two years, school psychologist Skye Denison is still in Scumble River trying to figure out why she’s still in Scumble River. But with all the town’s quirks and crimes, life there is never dull . . . and besides, it’s home.Scumble River is celebrating its bicentennial in style—with Historical Society Reenactments, a bingo tent, Crazy Craft Race, and a coal-tossing tournament. Serving as the guest of honor is none other than the town founder’s show more great-great-grandnephew, Gabriel Scumble. But his visit turns out to be short-lived when Skye’s students, Frannie and Justin, find him dead, a pickax protruding from the chest area of his authentic buckskin costume.
Meanwhile, Skye’s deceitful ex-fiancé Luc St. Amant has appeared out of the blue, creating turmoil in her love life. Does the real danger lie in the possibility that Luc will drive away the men in Skye’s life . . . or is there a more menacing connection between Luc’s arrival and Gabriel Scumble’s murder?
“When writers as sharp as Margaret Maron, Earlene Fowler, and Jerrilyn Farmer all rave about a colleague as convincingly as they have about Denise Swanson, even the gruffest noir addict has to take notice.”—Chicago Tribune. show less
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Member Reviews
This was an interesting premise--a school psychologist as an amateur sleuth. It makes sense--she'd have the contacts to investigate, and being a psychologist would make her good at solving puzzles, particularly ones dealing with human nature and emotions.
There was a lot going on in this story: a murder mystery, a troubled (& trouble-making!) teen, the return of Skye's ex-fiance, and a budding new romance. It all kept me turning the pages.
The small town atmosphere was fun, and I loved Scumble River's bicentennial celebration. It reminds me of the town where I grew up.
There was a lot going on in this story: a murder mystery, a troubled (& trouble-making!) teen, the return of Skye's ex-fiance, and a budding new romance. It all kept me turning the pages.
The small town atmosphere was fun, and I loved Scumble River's bicentennial celebration. It reminds me of the town where I grew up.
Another great Skye Denison cozy. My favorite 'definition' of a cozy is one I found on Elizabeth Ludwig's blog: "To sum up, a cozy mystery is a story with a small town feel. It involves quirky characters and an amatuer sleuth. The crime usually occurs "off stage" and it is void of the violence and gore that might be found in other genres. While an element of danger does exist, it is not the driving force behind the story. Best of all, there are plenty of clues and red herrings the reader has to sort through in order to solve the crime!"
You can read the rest of this review and all my other reviews at:
http://kylee-p.blogspot.com
OR
http://kyleesbookblog.wordpress.com
You can read the rest of this review and all my other reviews at:
http://kylee-p.blogspot.com
OR
http://kyleesbookblog.wordpress.com
Every Denise Swanson book I've read has been great!
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Author Information
52+ Works 4,451 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Murder of a Snake in the Grass
- Original publication date
- 2003
- People/Characters
- Skye Denison; Gabriel Scumble; Charlie Patukas; Eldon Clapp; Fayanne Emerick; Miss Letitia North (show all 50); Grady Nelson; Officer Roy Quirk; Simon Reid; May Leofanti Denison; Jed Denison; Vince Denison; Luc St. Amant; Justin Boward; Frannie Ryan; Thea Jones; Xavier Ryan; Trixie Bensen Frayne; Junior Doozier; Elvira Doozier; Ginger Overby Allen; Father Burns; Ursula Nelson; Annabel Lee; Earl Doozier, Senior; Otto McCabe; Cletus Doozier; Glenda Doozier; Cora Denison; Gillian Overby Tubb; Minnie Leofanti Overby; Owen Frayne; Opal Hill; Homer Knapik; Nanette Carroll; Coach; Arlen Yoder; Elvis Doozier; Mrs. Carroll; Leroy Yoder; Charlene Yoder; Otto; Snake Iazetto; Loretta Steiner; Abby Fleming; Stuart Nelson; Beatrice Nelson; Belle Whitney; Mrs. Bennett; Neva Llewellyn
- Important places
- Scumble River, Illinois, USA (town 75 miles south of Chicago); Illinois, USA; Scumble River Junior High School; Scumble River Senior High School; Up A Lazy River Motor Court, Scumble River, Illinois, USA; Charlie Trotter's restaurant, Chicago, Illinois, USA (show all 8); The Grand Union of the Mighty Bull's assembly hall, Scumble River, Illinois, USA; Scumble River Elementary School
- Dedication
- To school psychologists everywhere
who try every day to do the right thing
for the children,
especially my colleagues in Illinois - First words
- Skye Denison stood in the Up A Lazy River Motor Court parking lot, slapping mosquitoes and trying to keep an eye on her godfather, Charlie Patukas.
- Quotations
- [According to the Author's Note in Murder of a Stacked Librarian] This book takes place in August 2002. [According to chapter one, it's the middle of September.]
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'Perfect.'
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Statistics
- Members
- 225
- Popularity
- 144,279
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.66)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
