A daring and thrilling adventure with the jailer’s daughterIn this mystery set in 1968, Christi, a shy and awkward teenager, never expected to get sucked into helping her cousin, Lily, the “double-dare-you” daughter of the county jailer, try to solve the grizzliest murder the town of Roselyn, Mississippi, had ever seen. Then again, Christi had been entangled in her misadventures before. So a … whirlwind week of spying, lying, crawling through tunnels and sneaking into the jail should have come as no surprise to Christi. Lily, a vivacious prankster, loves adventure. It’s not hard to find when you live in a house connected to the jail. Christi, a city girl, is self-conscious and afraid of everything. Still, she’s drawn to the excitement and adventure that Lily always seems to provide. Christi arrives for a visit in time to help her cousin discover what happened the night Lily observed a county deputy drop a pair of women’s bloody shoes from a bag. After a chance meeting with the accused, they learn new information that sheds doubt on his guilt. Seeking justice, Lily sets a plan in motion that takes them on an adventure of risk and surprising twists. They not only discover unexpected truths about the case, but about themselves as well.
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Author Joy York expertly combines 1968, small-town southern Mississippi, and two cousins sharing a summer vacation. Lily, daughter to the sheriff, and Christi, her visiting cousin are of comparable age. Lily lives above the jail. She’s cultivated a nosey nature with a record of taking her imagination to the highest levels. Christi is a little less affluent as well as risk-averse yet admires Lily’s spunk.
The story moves forward with fun dialogue, rising suspense, and unexpected twists and turns. Lily and Christi are young teens with eyes on the boys, a thirst for adventure, and pushing the boundaries set by loving, protective parents. You get a sense early on of the history between these girls and the possibilities for their summer vacation.
“You ladies are up awful late tonight, aren’t you?” he asked. “Hi, Curly,” Lily answered.
“Not too late for when I have a sleepover. Curly, this is my cousin, Christi. Christi, this is Curly Sparks.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir,” I said.
“Pleasure’s mine, Christi.” He turned to Lily. “What are you up to tonight, Miss Lily? Nothing that’s going to get me in trouble with your daddy, I hope.”
“No, Curly, have you ever gotten in trouble because of me?”
“Let me see now…” he said, scratching his chin and rolling his eyes. “There’s the time I let you take your Girl Scout Troop in the jail to show them what an empty cell looked like, and you closed the door on them, half scaring them out of their wits. Your daddy had parents calling him for a week. Then there was the time you stole my cigarettes, took the keys off my….”
This story is reminiscent of the Nancy Drew stories with more thrill. The girls become determined to prove a jailed man’s innocence. As they follow the journey and clues, they learn more about each other, and their trust in one another builds. It is interesting to watch the preconceived notions of distant cousins who intermittently see one another shift and change as they work together.
The Bloody Shoe Affair is my first read of this author, but it won’t be my last. It is witty and fun from start to finish. I recommend this fun read for teens and young adults who want a solid mystery with a sense of adventure.
I enjoyed this breezy mystery-adventure like Popeye enjoys spinach. The characters, even the minor ones, are sharply drawn, and the pacing of the plot meanders up switchbacks to a perilous climax. York weaves her story around pillars of small town life such as the beauty parlor, the gas station, and the five-and-dime, that are often taken for granted. This choice gives a homey flavor to her yarn and accentuates the persistence and cleverness of her heroes.
The fourteen year old protagonists, Christi and Lily, are a study in contrasts. Brash, confident Lily sees it as her duty to pull anxious Christi out of her safe zones. When a crime happens that the adults won’t share with the teens, Lily’s inquisitive nature fires up to obsessive levels. The adults have good reason for staying mum; the crime appears hideous, and the roots of the evil are lust and greed. Lily’s father is the sheriff, and she lives next door to the jail, and, yes, there is tunnel between them. This leads to a lot of excellent sneaking around, wonderful parental hoodwinking, and fabulous misadventures.
While I, myself, skimmed over the many descriptions of food and clothing, they did add to the Southern ambiance and the characters. Despite underlying adult thematic material, the protagonists are involved with solving the mystery without delving into its depths. This book is clean and suitable for teens.