Brandilyn Collins, Coral Moon

Coral Moon

Brandilyn Collins

Zondervan, Apr 2007, $12.99

ISBN: 0310252245

Kanner Lake reporter Leslie Brymes heads towards her car in the driveway as she does every work day; however, this morning is different as someone with a green towel on their head sits inside her vehicle. She looks closer to find a murdered female whose battered face she recognizes with a note pinned to her shirt.

Leslie's roommate Paige Williams calls Kanner Lake Police Chief Vince Edwards to inform him of the corpse in the car. He leads the official investigation into the homicide of septuagenarian Vesta Johnson, a nice elderly person with no known enemies and a fixture at the New Community Church. Vince wonders why the killer connected Vesta to Leslie, but all clues lead to a dead person; soon others in the small Idaho town are murdered too. Maybe it is her journalist blood or the taunting of receiving the first body, but Leslie also begins making inquiries seeking a connecting motive.

The second Kanner Lake (see VIOLET DAWN) mystery is a delightful small town whodunit with seemingly paranormal elements. The murders stand out in contrast to the pastoral serene environment of Kanner Lake where townsfolk know one another and can leave doors unlocked. The reactions starting with Leslie, Paige and Vince and ultimately the townsfolk make for a fine thriller as each asks the Lord the same question: why me even as that person still lives. Cozy readers will appreciate this horrifying week in a small Idaho town.

Harriet Klausner