Through a Yellow Wood

Through a Yellow Wood
A Catskill Mountains Mystery
Carolyn J. Rose
Amazon Digital Services
Lexington, Kentucky
ISBN: 978-0-9837359-4-6
Trade Papercraft
2012
$ 16.49
468 pages

'She was a reminder that there are a hundred little forks in our roads every day and each choice can affect the next one.  If we don't think before we step, we might end up a long way from where we intended to be - from where we wanted to be.'
Sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
Imagine a small New England town where it seems as if everyone is related to each other. 
Dan Stone is asked to check-in on Clarence Wolven, his mother's second cousin.   Since Clarence always came into town in the first, he is now two days overdue, and that was odd for him.  Also, his phone line is dead.
Dan finds Clarence dead on his front steps.  Also dead are the dogs Clarence was training, except for one small pup who is hiding in the back of his kennel.
Dan arranges the funeral since Clarence had no close relatives and took the dog to the vet, who amputates a leg. 
When the sheriff's investigation has no leads, Dan, and his friend, Jefferson Longyear return to the cabin to look for further clues to the murderer.
Unfortunately, the three-legged dog, now adopted d by Dan's family and called Nelson, leads the two along a trail only to discover three women's dead bodies, posed as if in a play.
As the summer continues, Dan's life becomes more complicated with rebuilding his home, living with Camille, and having a teenaged girl becoming part of his homelife.
Through a Yellow Wood is a continuation of the first, reading Hemlock Lake is a prerequisite to enjoying the book.
I discovered both of these books to be intriguing with the mood.   The story line is depressing, but the author so compassionately cares for the characters that this is hypnotically addictive reading.
Carolyn Rose is the author of the Catskill Mountain mystery series; the Subbing isn't for Sissies series, and numerous other novels and publications.
She now resides in Vancouver, Washington where she works as a substitute teacher.  From growing up in the New York Catskill Mountains, to attending the University of Arizona, to working with Volunteers in Service to America in Arkansas, to being a television news researcher, producer, assignment editor and writer in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.
These characters are realistic and humanly flawed while still being likable and wanting to do what is right in their minds while revealing insights into their morality and values. The pacing perfectly matches the story making the reader feel as if they are accompanying Dan throughout the investigation.
Through a Yellow Wood is an unusual book with a novel approach to a dark story in a caring manner.