DEADLY DESCENT

DEADLY DESCENT
Author: Charlotte Hinger
Poisoned Pen Press
September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59058-645-72
$24.95
290 pages
Fiction, Mystery


“She was coming for me. From the belly of the vault, I could hear Fiona Hadley making her way down the main hall of the county courthouse toward my open door. No mistaking those authoritative, high-heeled clicks echoing across the marble floor.”

Who knows what secrets you can find when you are collecting the tales about the county’s history from family histories told and retold? Checking out what you are told sometimes makes it difficult to really see the truth or to see the truth through the lies of those telling the story.

Zelda St. John has a story to tell and her twin-sister, Fiona, wants to get it out of the hands of local history society in this western Kansas community. Fiona does not want this particular story to become public knowledge. Why? Apparently Fiona’s son, Brian, is running for public office and the story will damage Brian’s reputation. So what skeleton from the past could hurt a promising senatorial candidate?

Lottie Albright works as editor of county history books for the local historical society. She has integrated herself completely into this community as the local veterinarian’s much-younger second wife. She is still adjusting to being the step-mother to daughters that are near to her own age and the relationships with each of them.

Logically, Lottie wants to let Zelda know of Fiona’s demands. However, when she call Zelda, the phone just rings until the answering machine picks up. She couldn’t because she was dead.

Unfortunately in a small town, most are not known for their outstanding law enforcement. When the sheriff runs an ad in the local paper for a deputy, Lottie quickly applies for the position. Naturally, the sheriff wants to know if she had discussed this first with her husband. Being Lottie, she didn’t think that made a difference.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading DEADLY DESCENT. It had enough problems to be realistic, enough guts and spunk to be fun, and enough real feelings to connect with the reader. Definitely, this is a book that makes me want the sequel, now!

Charlotte Hinger essentially created Lottie Albright from her own life as a western Kansas historian who compiled county history books. COME SPRING, a historical novel won the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Award. DEADLY DESCENT is her first and hopefully not her last mystery.



Teri Davis October 3, 2009

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