Paint The Town Dead by Nancy Haddock

[Birdlady1950]

PAINT THE TOWN DEAD, STORY LINE:

Leslee Stanton Nix, aka Nixy, and the Silver Six are back in Nancy Haddock's latest mystery, Paint The Town Dead. Nixy and the gang have a new business enterprise. Therefore, hard work and fortitude are the order of the day. As a result, they have lined up craft demonstrations and prize giveaways for grand opening week; everything from gourd painting to wall art is on the calendar. Consequently a lot is happening at The Handcraft Emporium.

Needless to say, things do not go as planned. Most noteworthy are: family squabbles, verbal assaults, theft, and murder. These were not on the agenda. However, gourd painter Doralee finds herself accused of murdering her ex-husbands obnoxious fiancée.

The Silver Six and Nixy are on the case, along with hunky Detective Eric Shoar. Come along for shenanigans and crime solving in small town of Lilyvale, Arkansas.


PAINT THE TOWN DEAD, CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:

Firstly, author Nancy Haddock has crafted a solid mystery which will hold your attention and provide hours of entertainment. As result you will find yourself totally involved in the life of the Nixy and the Silver Six. Secondly, Ms. Haddock does not rush into murder; she gives the reader time to picture the town of Lilyvale, the citizens, and life in small town USA. The jungle drums in Lilyvale are in top form. Consequently, interaction of the town residents was realistic; noisy, gossipy, and of course, warm and loving. I love small town USA and Lilyvale is small town USA at its finest.

Also, Ms. Haddock plotting of this story was very skillful. She does not give away the who, when, how, and why until the end of the book. Needless to say, Ms. Haddock crafted several characters worthy of the title murderer; each could have been the culprit.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the two adorable pets, Amber the dog and T. C. the cat, was a stroke of genius. I love stories which feature pets; Ms. Haddock skillfully introduced and wove them into the story-line. Also, Ms. Haddock gifted the pets with wonderful personalities. As a result, they almost seem human.

Ms. Haddock's portrayal of the Silver Six is realistic and charming. She does not depict seniors as people with one foot in the grave. This group of seniors has zest for life and energy to spare which is true of most seniors in our society.

The pacing of the story was correct for the length of the book. Also, the story does not lag or bog down. In concluding the review of Paint The Town Dead, I found Ms. Haddock's writing style clear and fresh without the need for fluff to fill the page.


PAINT THE TOWN DEAD, RECOMMENDATION; 4 STARS

In conclusion, I do not hesitate to give Paint the Town 4 stars. I found Paint The Town Dead a relaxing clean mystery, which will appeal to anyone that enjoys a solid well-written story. I look forward to book 3 in this series.


Finally: I received this book from the author, publisher, and Netgalley in return for an honest book review. Book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion; consequently book reviews on line under my name and on my blog are my opinion,

[Silvermoon]

An interesting summary of the book. Senior citizens solving mysteries, sounds intriguing, just like Miss Marple and I love Miss Marple,

[Birdlady1950]

You might also like the Senile Squad by Chris LeGrow, which I reviewed. (Senior retired cops with walkers, urine bags etc.)

[Silvermoon]

That sounds intriguing. Even sounds like it could be a bit amusing.