Tess Harrow is a best-selling mystery author. She and her teenage daughter, Gertrude, recently moved to Winthrop, a small town in Eastern Washington. They're remodeling Tess's grandfather's old hardware store hoping to turn it into a bookstore when they unearth not one skeleton, but two. And once again Tess finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation, both helping and hindering the sheriff, Victor Boyd, all while finding needed inspiration for her next novel.
Tess comes up with some wild and crazy theories about the murders, some of which turn out to be true. I like her push and pull relationship with Victor. They two of them make a great team. And their kiss? Very swoony.
There's also a young and handsome undercover FBI agent, Jared Wilson, in town, working on a case while pretending to be Tess's contractor. Tess finds his interest in her flattering. He's also good at following suspects. The fact that he makes the sheriff jealous is an added bonus. Jared's ineptitude at lying made him a surprisingly appealing character.
Besides taking care of her mom, Gertie takes an interest in forensic science in this one and starts spending a lot of time at the morgue with the coroner, Sylvia Nerudo. She was my favorite part of this book. I love her teen-age attitude and eye-rolling, and all her humorous interactions with her mom and the sheriff.
All in all this is another enjoyable cozy from Tamara Berry. I like how Tess uses her research and skills as a mystery author to figure out certain aspects of the case. This book is almost as good as the first one, Buried in a Good Book, which I loved. I'd give On Spine of Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Happy Reading!
P.S. This counts as another read for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.
