Publication Date: 10/01/2013
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425252310
ISBN-13: 978-0425252314
(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound
Joyce and Jim Lavene on the WEB: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Books in the series:
A Timely Vision (2010), A Touch of Gold (2011), A Spirited Gift (2011), A Haunting Dream (2012), A Finder's Fee (2013)
Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.
Excerpt from A Finder's Fee, courtesy of the author's website.
Synopsis:
The mayor of Duck, North Carolina, Dae O’Donnell, is a woman with a gift for finding lost things. Sometimes it leads her to lost keys or earrings—and sometimes it leads her to murder…
DIRTY CAMPAIGNING
Two weeks before the mayoral election, Dae gets sidetracked from her political aspirations by a spirit in need of rescuing. An antique amber necklace allows Dae to connect with Maggie Madison, a witch who wants Dae to rebury her bones so she can rest in peace. But digging leads Dae to an even bigger mystery, a forty-year-old murder with ties to Randal “Mad Dog” Wilson, her mayoral opponent.
Dae wants to run a clean race, but town sentiment is mixed about whether she’s using her abilities to get the election to go her way. And when she learns that her own grandfather—the former sheriff of Dare County—might be mixed up in the long-buried tragedy, Dae will have to uncover the real killer and put Maggie to rest, before her political career ends up six feet under…
Thoughts:
Mayor Dae O'Donnell is once again up to her ears in trouble in the latest Missing Pieces mystery from Joyce and Jim Lavene. This writing duo has produced some great cozy mysteries over the years and A Finder's Fee does not disappoint. Readers will enjoy the psychic abilities of the lead character as well as a ghostly presence in this one. A witch from the 1700's is tapping Dae's ability to find missing things and this time it's not car keys or a missing piece of jewelry. It's her bones! Readers will love the campaign trail with Dae and the gang from Duck, North Carolina as the election looms and her opponent might be the murderer!
A Finder's Fee is a great addition to the Missing Pieces mystery series. Husband and wife writing duo, Joyce and Jim Lavene have found a good niche with these psychic related cozies. I like the fact that Dae's abilities are a bit uncommon even in the psychic community. She can find things. Your every day items as well as long lost heirlooms, but this gift usually leads her to murder. The Lavene's use humor and wit to bring A Finder's Fee to life. The townspeople from Duck are quite eccentric and some are even every bit as psychic as Dae herself. The dialogue is always comical and gives a lighthearted feel to the story. This is just one of the ingredients that make this a great series.
The addition of witch Maggie Madison to this installment in the series will provide a lot of fun moments for the reader. Maggie seems to take over Dae's personality at the oddest of moments and provides humorous, as well as, frightening moments. I liked the fact that through Maggie and the rescue of her bones, readers are able to learn more about the past of several of Duck's inhabitants, including Dae's opponent for the upcoming election, Mad Dog and Dae's grandfather. The back story in these novels is always interesting and informative. It gives a lot of credibility to the story and engages the readers interest.
Finding a skeleton in a race car, might seem a little odd to some readers, but it's typical of this quaint little North Carolina town. Duck is fun place to be and readers will find themselves wishing they were citizens in this very eclectic place. Townspeople like Kevin and Shayla, Dae's friends and partners in crime, have become like old friends to readers of the series and it's always fun to go back and visit them. But new additions to the series are always appearing. The Lavene's know how to keep the readers interested and turning those pages.
The mystery aspect of this one was well thought out and planned. Each clue was positioned to take the reader off on a different tangent. Keeping the killer elusive, but right in front the reader as well. I like the fact that Joyce and Jim Lavene tantalize the reader by keeping the murderer just out of site until the end. I had some trouble figuring this one out until the last couple of chapters. I finally settled on who I thought it was and ended up being wrong. LOL! It happens. This is a great addition to the series and readers will be left wanting more.
A Finder's Fee is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
About the Author:
Giveaway Details:
The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of A Finder's Fee by Joyce and Jim Lavene.
~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US Addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, November 13th.
1. Please leave a comment describing something you've lost that you really want to find.
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19 comments:
I have lost some old photos that my mother gave me---I know they are someplace in the house, but I just can't find them.
It would be lovely to locate a journal which belonged to my parents. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
I haven't lost anything that is of major importance.
I only have some things from one Grandmother and they are priceless.
I lost a gold ring with my birthstone in it. When the kids were very young we hired a young woman to be their daytime babysitter. She came with what we thought were good references (yes we called all of them).
She went through our drawers and stole some of our jewelry, my ring among them. Three days after we put a lock on our bedroom she quit. When we asked her she said that our daughter loved to play with stuff so maybe she move it.. We didn't think so but we had no proof to bring to the cops.
I'm not too bad to lose things. I usually have a place for most things and I like those things to be in there place. But it does happen on occasion. I have a keepsakes I wish I could find.
I haven't lost anything, I'm very careful with things that are important to me.
I have lost any photos. But all the home movies that my uncle took and gave to us are gone. That hurts because so many of the people in them have passed away.
My baby ring disappeared, along with some other jewelry given to me by my grandparents. It was all very special to me.
The most I ever lose are papers. I just need to have a better filing system.
Can't think of anything
I lost a smoky topaz stone from a ring.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
A pretty sweetheart ring I had when I was younger gone missing - never found
I tend to place things in a safe place so I won't lose them and then can't remember the safe place. I am currently trying to remember what I did with a costume jewelry 1950's brooch that belonged to my deceased Mom.
I lost my high school ring almost 40 years ago. I wish I could find it for I loved that ring.
ayancey1974(at)gmail(dot)com
I've lost a blue ring that my Granny gave to me before she passed away. Somehow it got lost before it made it's way to me :(
Recently, I lost my camera. It's strange, because it wasn't taken out of the house, so I'm hoping it's just misplaced somewhere and we come across it soon.
I lost a sapphire ring that my husband gave me and I would love to have it back.
I know we took pictures of a family visit with some cousins, one of whom passed away. I haven't been able to find them for what seems like forever.
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