When I first "met" Mrs. Anne Jolie Watson, I suspected I was in for a comic mystery focused on seniors. And, it's true that Anne Jolie does provide the comic relief in this story. But she has an important role in the small community mystery, Loni Emmert and P.I. Barrington's Button Hollow Chronicles No. 1: The Leaf Peeper Murders. Anne Jolie represents all those people who care enough about their community to stand up for it.And, despite his frustrations with Anne Jolie and the other seniors in the Button Hollow Citizens' Brigade, Sheriff Jeff Ramsay needs people who are suspicious of outsiders. Maybe Anne Jolie's calls and complaints aren't always on target, as when she calls saying she smells chlorine. And, she really shouldn't be allowed to drive the SUV given to the Brigade, since her most recent accident in it is her third. But, Anne Jolie keeps Ramsay on his toes. He refuses to knuckle under to the mayor and call two suspicious deaths suicides. In his own way, Jeff Ramsay is as suspicious as Anne Jolie. When Anne Jolie and a fellow senior are found knocked out and tied up in their car, the sheriff knows Anne Jolie is right. There's something strange going on in Button Hollow, New Hampshire. Now, if Sheriff Jeff Ramsay can set aside his personal problems long enough to deal with the community's, he may be able to solve the mystery.
Emmert and Barrington take readers into the heart of small town life, its people. Crime isn't unique to the city. Murder can find its way to small villages such as Button Hollow. The authors gave us two memorable characters in Mrs. Anna Jolie Watson and Sheriff Jeff Ramsay. They represent memorable parts of any small town, the caring citizens and those who care to protect the citizens. The Leaf Peeper Murders bring those elements to life in an enjoyable mystery.
The authors' website is www.thewordmistresses.com
Button Hollow Chronicles No. 1: The Leaf Peeper Murders by Loni Emmert and P.I. Barrington. Mainly Murder Press. ©2010. ISBN 9780982589991. 176p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure: The authors sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.
