Carolina Reckoning

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.