DEAD IN THE WATER

Book 1 in the Welcome Back to Scumble River Mysteries

by Denise Swanson

The first book in a brand new series featuring New York Times bestselling author Denise Swanson's beloved Scumble River setting and characters, Dead in the Water is a gripping mystery that won't let you go until you've turned the last page.

A twister, a kidnapping, and a murder―oh my! Scumble River may never be the same.

For school psychologist Skye Denison, there's certainly no place like home. When a violent tornado devastates her small hometown of Scumble River, she can't see how the community will ever recover―especially since town councilman Zeke Lyons appears to have perished in the twister.

But things get even worse for Skye when her police chief husband, Wally, disappears in the midst of investigating Zeke's death, and evidence arises pointing to foul play. Did Zeke really die in the storm, or was he murdered? And could Wally be next on the criminal's hit list?

MY REVIEW

This reboot (due to change in publishers), of the wildly popular Scumble River Mystery series, is a clever idea from author Denise Swanson. Followers of the original series will be happy to find their much loved characters are present and accounted for, and will also see that DEAD IN THE WATER has the same feel as the books in this series’ predecessor. New readers will be able to follow along, though I’m sure many will want more detailed backstories.

In DEAD IN THE WATER, “a violent tornado devastates” Scumble River. The author plays off the tornado with a Wizard of Oz theme. Before every chapter she uses a quote from the Wizard of Oz. Also, many characters have Oz themed names such as, Mrs. Gulch, Mr. Lyons, Glenda, and Tin. It was a lot of fun finding these, though a tiny bit distracting as it made my mind wander to Oz.

Packed with lots of adventure, and action, multiple mysteries, and a lot of emotion, by the time I finished DEAD IN THE WATER I was exhausted! This story was tense, and sad, at times funny, tender and sweet. Seriously an emotional twister of a read you’re going to want to try for yourself!

Available Now!

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