Josiah Reynolds and her girlfriend had just seen a movie and were going home when they discover a dead body. Why does this always happen to Josiah? She learns the dead man was a reporter and a stranger to the Bluegrass. The police believe his death is due to a botched robbery, but Josiah thinks otherwise and begins snooping around. When Detective Drake tells Josiah to back off, Josiah’s forensic … back off, Josiah’s forensic psychiatrist boyfriend, Hunter, comes to the rescue and hires her to help investigate the case. Now Josiah has carte blanche to all the reports concerning the case, and they bear out her theory of what really happened to the dead reporter, but no one will listen.
Josiah makes it her mission to unearth evidence that will prove her theory. She begins the dangerous game of finding out the truth in a world that hides its secrets among antebellum mansions, oak-cured bourbon, and million dollar horses grazing in emerald pastures. This is the world of the Bluegrass—a world of wealth, privilege, and now murder!
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This was the best Josiah Reynolds Mystery yet! A wonderful holiday mystery that pulls you in from the first page and doesn’t let go until the last. All of the engaging characters return to solve Josiah’s latest run in with a murder victim. The warm holiday atmosphere makes you wish you were there to be a part of it all. A must read for returning Josiah fans and new readers to the series. I can’t wait for the next book to find out what happens to Josiah and Baby!
Josiah is in fine form in this very delightful murder mystery! Abigail Keam does an outstanding job with the character Josiah Reynolds! Josiah is quite the middle aged woman, who in the last few years seems to stumble over dead bodies!! In this one, the body is of a reporter who is found in the trunk of her friend’s car. Josiah feels like it is up to her to figure out who murdered the young man. Her boyfriend, Hunter, who is often hired to do psych workups of who would do such crimes, tries to help her. They are a great team, Josiah has had some nasty ups and downs, but she is a great character and you will completely enjoy this page turner of a story!!! It is very well written with a great story line!
Pleasant read ..
“Death by Deceit” earns 5/5 Trunk Surprises…Totally Engaging Fun !
For me it’s a delightful introduction! Josiah Reynolds, a woman of a mature age and physically flawed, raises honey bees, sells the honey, boards horses, and rents out her home, The Butterfly, for special events, but it’s her amateur detecting that seems to be the most challenging. After an evening at the movies, she and her best friend Veritas Noble finds VeVe‘s car a victim of a hit and run…crushed bumper and all. An envelope of money and a note of apology and “hope this helps” may ease some of the financial burden, but then they discover a dead body in her trunk. Oh, I love cozy mysteries! Abigail Keam’s writing style is very entertaining with short chapters, each filled with descriptive language and dialogue that does well to illustrate the setting, the emotions and tone, and the various personalities. Josiah is quite refreshing with a sense of humor, sometimes deliciously snarky, and personal predicaments to which I can easily relate. She has a very complicated relationship with Matt, and her past involvement in suspicious deaths has put her as a “persona non grata” with Detective Norbert Drake and the police department both leading to some delightful conflicts. The mystery is not too complex, easily followed with a few suspects and motives to consider, personal peril to nail-bite through, and a “Wow, I didn’t see that coming!” conclusion to make it a satisfying read! There’s an English mastiff and a clowder of in- and outside cats for the “fur friend” lover, and vintage movie and televising references, nosy neighbors, and a little black dress for fun! This is the thirteenth book in the Josiah Reynolds Mystery series, and although much has happened with relationships and lots of criminal activity, it was easy to get hooked…totally entertaining!