Suzann Ledbetter, Once a Thief

Once a Thief

Suzann Ledbetter

Mira, May 2006, $6.99

ISBN 0778323005

In Plainfield, "home stager" Ramey Burke knows she is all alone as she has been for a few years since her spouse and parents are gone, and her living relatives are behind bars. Though feeling overweight, Ramey likes her current serene lifestyle in which she is involved with no one except clients, when she finalizes the clean up of a house before it is placed in sale.

That is she was all alone, but now the state has freed elderly Aunt Melba Jane and Uncles Ed and Archie, who move in with Ramey. The Dillinger trio enjoy discussing the good old days of professionally robbing banks, which Ramey finds appalling and fascinating. However, when Ramey finds a corpse of a colleague of her live in relatives, the Plainfield police immediately suspect the Dillinger trio. Ramey knows her felonious relatives would never murder anyone, so she begins to investigate. That makes lead police detective Mike Constantine worried for her safety, though he welcomes her intelligence and insight, as she proves more than capable as a sleuth, and definitely kissable, though the case comes first.

ONCE A THIEF is an amusing lighthearted romantic mystery starring likable lead characters and her zany relatives. The whodunit is fun to follow, as Mike realizes quickly that Ramey is more than just an asset on the case, as he uses her help almost as much to keep her safe as for her insight. Suzann Ledbetter writes a comical wacky tale that her fans will fully appreciate.