Book Review: A Well-Dressed Corpse

A Well-Dressed Corpse

Jo A. Hiestand

310 pages

L&L Dreamspell

$16.95

Available at All on the Same Page Bookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble

“One dark March evening Vera Howarth vanishes from her village. Despite search teams, TV appeals and a police investigation, she is never found, and her disappearance transmutes into a local ghost story. That was 23 years ago. Now Reed Fitzgerald, the organizer of the village well dressing custom, goes missing, and the incident is linked by speculation and fear to Vera’s. Detective-Sergeant Brenna Taylor, her boss, Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham, and other members of their Murder Team from the Derbyshire Constabulary are called in to investigate when a handful of bones is discovered in the forest that hugs the village.”

The newest book in the Taylor-Graham mystery series by Jo Hiestand is just fabulous! This is definitely a series worth the read, from the first to the latest and – Jo lives right here in St. Louis. Not so unusual, perhaps, but these mysteries take place in England and Jo has captured every nuance, both language and location, perfectly!

Each book begins with a “cast of characters,” just so the reader can keep everyone straight. “A Well-Dressed Corpse” introduces a local legend, a ghost story, that comes back to life when yet another body is discovered – near the remains of a decades old secret. Detective-sergeant Brenna Taylor and Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham discover murder, scheming, and secrecy, all the while twisting and turning to the end.

Very well written, Jo’s books will keep the reader entertained and amused – and baffled, as the mysteries unfold into unexpected endings. Visit with Jo on the evening of August 23 at All on the Same Page Bookstore, as she unveils her latest creation: a cookbook full of  delicious recipes from the Taylor-Graham series, “Cider, Swords and Straw.”