Review: Come Homicide or High Water by Denise Swanson

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-ARC

Publisher:
Poisoned Pen Press

Release Date:
December 31, 2019





Synopsis from Goodreads:

There's something fishy just below the surface of Scumble River...

School psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd is getting ready to return to work from her maternity leave and hoping for a peaceful year in her job as a school psychologist. But when an elderly woman disappears on her first day back and a disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school, Skye realizes that her return will be anything but quiet.

When the parent suing Skye's school is found dead and with the missing woman's case is still unsolved, Skye suspects the crimes are somehow linked. With her chief of police husband, Wally, at her side, Skye dives into the investigations. But as tensions rise and Skye and Wally's suspect list lengthens, they start to wonder whether a member of their own tight-knit community could be behind it all...

My Review

Skye Denison-Boyd is almost ready to return from maternity leave to her job as a school psychologist. Until she goes back, she’s lending a helping hand to the intern replacing her. She’s called in when an angry mother threatens to sue the school. Her husband, the chief of police, requests her help in locating a missing elderly woman. When the angry parent is found murdered, Skye can’t help wonder if the cases are somehow connected.

Skye and her husband set out to solve both of these mysteries. They suspect the guilty party could be someone they know.

This series originally began with the Scumble River Mystery series and blossomed to the Welcome Back to Scumble River Mystery series. I’m so glad they did. The Scumble River series was one of the first cozy mystery series I ever read, before I knew they were a genre unto themselves. This is the third book in the new series and I love seeing the way Skye has grown from a woman fighting for a career to a woman with a successful career and married with twins. This is why I always think it’s best to start a series from the beginning so you can appreciate the character growth.

However, the mystery itself is contained within this book. So, it can be read on its own. There are no cliffhangers.  Still I recommend reading the whole series from the beginning.

This was a quick read for me. I could not put it down and loved every minute of it. The plot was fast-paced and the characters are well-developed. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. I was totally taken by surprise.

This is a wonderful addition to the series and I hope there will be many more to follow.

For reading challenges:
Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2020
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2020
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2020 (Illinois)

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.