Carolina Reckoning
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
When 30-something housewife, Alison Monaghan discovers proof of her husband's infidelity in a photograph with a mysterious woman, she must decide how to confront Frank when he returns home from work. Despite the influence of her best friend Valerie, a strong Christian, Alison remains aloof from God and is determined to handle this crisis her own way. But Alison may not get that chance. Frank never makes it home. Soon his body is found on a lonely back-country road in antebellum Weathersby Historic Park where Frank served on the board of directors and where Alison, with a degree in landscape design, was a volunteer garden docent. Homicide detective Mike Barefoot, a Cherokee native from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, immediately puts Alison at the top of his suspect list. He finds himself drawn to her--and not just because she had motive for the crime. As an army veteran, Mike usually keeps his emotional walls high. And as a detective, he knows not to get involved with murder suspects. So why he is so attracted to Alison? Can he fight his feelings for her--and the stirrings in his heart toward God?
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3.5 stars
Overall, I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery. It worked out subtly at first and then with more urgency after the case went cold and Alison got determined to solve it. I also enjoyed that each character learned to acknowledge God in daily life, though it wasn't very detailed.
A few things didn't add up/bothered me. Alison was a daredevil when it came to a clue, even after being shot at. The incident of being shot at was underplayed and I never quite understood that bit. I think Robert was just in there to muddy the waters and annoy me, perhaps?
Also, I didn't understand why Mike was so touchy about his Cherokee heritage. Members of my family have the exact same fraction of Cherokee blood but we don't over-react because someone uses a term of “hitting the warpath,” etc. It's a part of who Mike is but he acted like he had no other heritage and was overly touchy in multiple situations, more like he was out looking for prejudice and imagining it where none was. This wasn't ever dealt with as a character trait, despite how this looking-for-offense trait popped up several times in the course of the story.
Overall, a solid mystery, and an author I'll be reading more of.
