Meredith Blevins, The Vanished Priestess

The Vanished Priestess

Meredith Blevins

Forge, Oct 2004, $23.95, 320 pp.

ISBN: 0765307804

Widowed after only a few years of marriage, Annie Szabo inherited her gypsy mother-in-law Mina, who was not pleased when her son married an outsider. Over time, the two combating women found a way to co-exist at a distance with one another. Though they would never admit this to anyone, even their maker, they respect one another. Annie is unhappy when Mina comes for an extended visit for a large dose of the woman will drive her crazy.

However, Annie's concern over her failing mental health as there is no end state to Mina is diverted by someone shooting her neighbor Margo Spencer in the back; circus friends of the victim discovered the body. Margo owned and operated a new age circus that funded a shelter for battered and abused women. When Annie's daughter Abra arrived bruised, Margo brought her to the shelter and the Szabo women closed ranks against her abusing spouse Rory. At the same time that Margo was killed, her lover Lili disappears. To get her mind off of all the negativity that floods her soul, Annie investigates the homicide.

An Annie Szabo mystery is always a special treat due to the eccentric Szabo clan that play powerful secondary roles especially driving the heroine nuts with their loyalty and other shtick that she reciprocates 100 percent. Meredith Blevins applies a wicked sense of humor, at times edgy, but never quite over the edge, as the conversations between characters, especially the cross purpose discussions between Annie and Mina, are fabulous. Amateur sleuth fans will love THE VANISHED PRIESTESS.

Harriet Klausner