Reviewed By Liz

ISBN 978-0-425-21462-6

Sweet and Deadly is Charlaine Harris’ first book, a stand-alone published in 1981. It features a young woman named Catherine Linton, who is slowly coming to grips with the death of her parents six months before. One morning, when shooting at cans on her land in the country, Catherine discovers the battered body of her father’s former nurse. Catherine is shaken, but believes this murder is related to the suspicious deaths of her parents, whose car had been sabotaged and caused their deaths.

Catherine moved back home after the deaths of her parents but she has been aimless and withdrawn. She realizes after she discovers the body of the nurse that she has been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Her parents died for a reason. Someone they knew killed them and she has been waiting to see what the killer’s next move would be.

Catherine and her fellow newspaper reporter, Tom, both investigate and report the murder of the nurse. But when Catherine discovers yet another body in a seemingly related crime, people she has known all her life in her hometown Lowfield, Mississippi don’t know whether to be afraid of her or for her. Catherine is certain that one of her fellow townspeople is the killer and along the way she discovers a lot of surprising information about the people she has known and trusted all her life.

This is a great example of a murder in a small town. There are no mysterious strangers on whom the murder can be pinned and this lends a fantastic tension to the story because the relationships between people in a small town are complex and run deep. When the dynamics between people are changed, the results can be shattering and Harris captures this well.

Favorite character? Catherine’s boss Randall. Did I guess it? Yes. Will I read another? Yes.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

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