Selected as a Pioneer Woman Best Beach Read! Featured on Buzzfeed Books! In the first of a thrilling new series, one woman’s extraordinary psychic gift plunges her already-troubled present into chaos—and puts her future in someone’s deadly sights . . . Until now, Odessa Jones’ inherited ability to read emotions and foretell danger has protected her. But second sight didn’t warn her she would … danger has protected her. But second sight didn’t warn her she would soon be a widow—and about to lose her home and the catering business she’s worked so hard to build. The only things keeping Dessa going are her love for baking and her sometimes-mellow cat, Juniper. Unfortunately, putting her life back together means taking a gig at an all-kinds-of-shady real estate firm run by volatile owner Charlie Risko . . .
Until Charlie is brutally killed—and Dessa’s bullied co-worker is arrested for murder. Dessa can’t be sure who’s guilty. But it doesn’t take a psychic to discover that everyone from Charlie’s much-abused staff to his long-suffering younger wife had multiple reasons to want him dead. And as Dessa follows a trail of lies through blackmail, dead-end clues, and corruption, she needs to see the truth fast—or a killer will bury her deep down with it.
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Odessa Jones is a widow and a psychic whose gift didn’t warn her of that trouble. Her gift includes the ability to read emotions and to know when she’s in danger as well as seeing the occasional aura or glimmer. After her husband’s death, Odessa takes a job at a possibly shady real estate firm that’s run and owned by Charlie Risko who’s extremely volatile. When Charlie is killed and a coworker is arrested, Odessa is surprised when the young man calls her for help. Can she find the killer?
This book is the first in a new series and was an enjoyable read. I love books with a taste of the paranormal and psychics are a favorite. The book’s well-written with wonderful characters and the mystery will keep you guessing. I’m looking forward to the next book and recommend this one.
Odessa Jones has faced tragedy and heartbreak – her beloved husband passes away, their catering business was lost and now she’s about to lose her home. In order to get back on her feet, she takes a position as an associate with Risko Realty. Unfortunately, the job turns out to be more sleuthing than selling and Odessa has to use her “gifts” to keep herself safe!
Valerie Wilson Wesley has created a fascinating new sleuth – Odessa (Dessa) Jones. Dessa is complex, kind, smart and still grieving the loss of her husband Darryl. She has an interesting method of listening to and evaluating people and situations (I won’t say more than that!) and the character has such depth and is so well-written, that the reader feels as if they are right there with her discovering clues. The writing style is direct, relatable and left me not wanting to read that last page and finish the book!
The supporting characters, Dessa’s co-workers and her wonderful Aunts Phoenix and Celestine are strong enough to have their own books. Of course, Juniper her spoiled feline is adorable and demanding and the pound cake recipe was amazing!
I can’t wait for the next Odessa Jones Mystery!
. I received an ARC from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley is the debut of the Odessa Jones Mysteries. Odessa “Dessa” Jones is a widow who is still grieving the loss of her beloved husband. They had a catering business together, but Dessa has not felt like cooking since her husband’s death. This is what led Dessa to get her realtor’s license and begin working at Risko Realty. Dessa was hoping for a cozy work atmosphere where she would make friends, but that is not the case at Risko Realty. Charlie Risko has a temper, and the atmosphere is tense. Odessa inherited the family “gift”, but she is wary of it and has never learned to use it. We learn more about Odessa, her deceased husband, her “gift”, and her family as the book progresses. A Glimmer of Death is told in the first-person point-of-view, so we are privy to all of Odessa’s thoughts (which can be rambling and repetitious). I was not a fan of Odessa nor many of the other characters in this book. The exception is Odessa’s two aunts. The murder of Charlie Risko has Odessa questioning her fellow realtors in hopes of revealing the killer. She uses baked goods as a way to get into their homes and ask questions. There are a handful of unlikeable suspects all with motive to kill Charlie (he was an odious man). Most readers will have no problem solving this whodunit long before the reveal. I had hoped it would be more of a challenge since there were so many suspects. The clues were a bit too obvious. I do want to let readers know there is, unfortunately, some mild foul language in the book. I like the potential love interest for Odessa. He is a kind man who is a former cop who now runs a killer barbecue joint. He is also helpful to Odessa’s investigation. I wanted to like A Glimmer of Death, but it is a lukewarm read for me. I could not get into the book. I found it a dull read (boring, unlikeable characters, sluggish pacing, and an easy to solve mystery). The paranormal element was light and confusing. The story needed more excitement and action. It is classified as a cozy mystery, but it lacked that cozy feel (charming small town with friendly residents). The ending was anticlimactic and rushed. This is the first book in the series, so I am hoping for improvement in the next Odessa Jones Mystery.
As soon as I heard that Valerie Wilson Wesley was back with a new mystery series (after way too long) and it’s a cozy, too….well I knew I had to get my hands on it. Odessa (Dessa) Jones has hit a rough patch in her life after the sudden death of her beloved husband Darryl. Because of her loss her heart just wasn’t able to carry her through the job of keeping their catering business going and it went under. Knowing that the next loss would be her house, Dessa decides to try her hand at selling real estate. It would have been fine if it hadn’t been a job at Risko realty owned by the worst boss ever, bar none. Charlie Risko is a sleaze, a jerk, a bully and violent. No surprise when he turns up dead as the list of suspects isn’t short. The short list would be who didn’t want to kill him.
The group of employees is varied and everybody has something to hide. They all have, to some degree, suffered at the hands of Charlie, even his younger wife. Dessa knows more about life at Risko Real Estate than the rest of the cast because she has a rather unwanted gift. A form of second sight that her Aunt Phoenix calls “glimmer” or what most would call auras. Dessa is an empath and has yet to get her gift under control like her aunts have with their paranormal gifts. Besides auras she also smells things like being in Charlie’s office and smelling nutmeg. It was fascinating.
As with her other series featuring Tamara Hayle (8 books) this one has a solid mystery to solve, full of red herrings, twists and turns to keep you guessing. Dessa and her cat, Juniper along with her aunts and various other great characters were so enjoyable that I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series. I have already saved a place for it on my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley is a bit of a tough one to write about. I want you to read it because it was really good, but if you are a hardcore cozy fanatic, it may not be what you usually look for in a cozy. Most of the aspects are there, but there is a really big one that is missing… at least it was for me.
Usually in cozies there are so many wonderful characters and that’s one of the reasons that readers keep coming back. These characters become friends and you want to catch up with them when the next book comes out. But in A Glimmer of Death, a lot of the people were nasty pieces of work.
Now, I don’t want you to decide not to read it because Wesley really does a great job with character development, even the not so likeable characters. And there are still characters that you will enjoy, and a lot of diverse characters too! I just want to let you know before you delve into the book… this is a review after all. 😉
I loved the premise with Dessa and her family having psychic abilities. It was a fun change to have the main character already aware of them, instead of spending half of the book realizing it. Yet, Desssa doesn’t have a firm grip on them, so we do get some exploration. And we are introduced to her two aunts who do have their powers more under control. I really enjoyed her aunt’s powers when it comes to money. Often in the supernatural community you shouldn’t use these types of powers to benefit yourself, but maybe it’s the dark witch in me that says, “Why not?!?”
I was also very happy with the way the love interest is playing out and that he was a police officer so he still has contacts on the force, but that he has a profession that matches Dessa more. Plus his grandma’s name was Odessa too, so how perfect is that. And as far as the mystery goes there are a lot of suspects and red herrings, but if you pay attention there’s a good chance you’ll be able to figure it out before the end of the book. There were two things that Wesley included that helped me come to the conclusion early.
An excellent start to a new series, and I really hope that the slight change from the usual cozy doesn’t stop you from reading it or makes you leave a negative review just because of it.
family-dynamics, friendship, widow, real-estate, baker, other-gifted, cozy-mystery, murder, discrimination, situational-humor, small-business, small-town
While trying to dig herself out of grieving for her husband who died a sudden unexpected death, Dessa is working as a real estate agent with some challenging coworkers. Dessa senses some aspects of them but isn’t sure of that part of her. Then the boss gets murdered in the office and the Afghanistan vet is arrested because his prints were on the murder weapon. But he has no one else to turn to except Dessa who comes to believe in him but finds some disturbing photos in his apartment when she goes there to pick up his parakeet (note that she owns a cat!). Seems as if everyone trusts her but she decides that the way to get through the confusion is to do a limited resume of the business she had shared with her husband (baking) in order to pick the brain of the friendly restaurant owner who is an ex-cop. Lots of suspects, plot twists, red herrings, and another murder or two in this start of an excellent series!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!