Dorothy Francis takes readers back to Key West in Killer in Control and it’s another good very atmospheric cozy style mystery from the author. Full of guilt and heavy with memories, suspended Iowa police officer Kitt Morgan plans on spending time with her sister, Janell and her husband, Rex at their bed and breakfast inn, “The Poinsetta” located at Key West. When she isn’t lecturing one and all about her Prius and how environmentally responsible it is, Kitt’s plan is to relax as much as possible and try not to think about her role in the shooting back home in snowy Iowa. Something that is never far from her thoughts as her police officer father never once shot anyone during his long career.
Sensing something wrong on her arrival, it is not long before Janell and Rex explain to Kitt that they are in real trouble. Fortunately, despite the fact that Rex is bald, it does not mean he is dying of cancer as Kitt quickly suspects on arrival. Instead, one of their guests is dead. Abra Barrie was murdered. Not at the bed and breakfast but elsewhere. They are involved since she was a guest and there is evidence indicating someone at the inn was involved. Both Janell and Rex, as well as their small staff, are suspects in the murder case. Janell and Rex would like Kitt Morgan to quietly investigate, when she is not relaxing and seeing the sites, to clear their names and the business.
How can Kitt tell her sister and her husband no? She can’t. The problem with that, is by sticking her nose in the case when she is not seeing the sites of Key West and the immediate area, she makes herself the target of a killer. While the suspects are many because they are all eccentric in various ways there is only one killer among them. A self-proclaimed “killer in control” who will strike again in this cozy style novel before the case is solved. Despite all Kitt’s reading and experience, and a sister who seems to know much more about police investigative work than she does, it isn’t an easy case to solve when some many characters fit the profile of sociopathic behavior.
Dorothy Francis has penned yet another enjoyable stand alone novel set at Key West. Once again she recounts the sights and sounds along with the unique history of the area while assembling a cast of rather eccentric characters for her latest cozy style mystery tale. A tale of serial murder that fittingly eventually ends on the beach. Killer in Control is another solidly good story from this talented author.
Killer in Control: A Key West Mystery
Dorothy Francis
Five Star
ISBN# 978-1-43282-502-7
July 2011
Hardback
274 Pages
$25.95
Material in the form of an ARC was provided quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012
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1 comment:
I'm with you, Kevin. Dorothy deserves your praise. All of her books are well-written and very enjoyable.
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