After Dusk: A Mystery Novel by Lynda McDaniel #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Book 8

Book Blurb:

Laurel Falls, N.C., Summer, 2015: “What do you do when the sheriff says an old friend killed someone … but he swears he didn’t do it?

Believe him.

I never thought I’d see Dusk Holt again. He was just a boy when I helped Della Kincaid find what happened to his mother all those years ago. And now here he stood at my front door—an ex-con with prison tats crawling up his neck.

He promised he wanted to do good going forward. But next thing we knew, he’d gotten himself arrested for murder before his hair had time to grow out from that awful prison cut.

Not to mention all the evidence that kept piling up against him. No question about it. The sheriff was after Dusk.

Instead of the real killer.

I’m not proud how often I wanted to give up our investigation. And why wouldn’t I? I got beat up, tires slashed, and almost drowned. Della and I tore all over the mountains of North Carolina and chased clues to the Pacific Northwest and back.

I’ll say this for that killer—he was good at being evil. He wore us out and then some.

But when a friend—even one from long ago—needs you, how can you turn your back?

You can’t.”~ Abit Bradshaw

You’ll enjoy this suspenseful story because who doesn’t long for justice?

If you love Jacqueline Winspear, Sue Grafton, and Cheryl Bradshaw (no relation to Abit Bradshaw that we know of), you’re sure to enjoy the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series.

Get it now—for the rich natural setting, colorful characters, and suspenseful investigations.

After Dusk is the eighth novel in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series by award-winning author Lynda McDaniel. It is a standalone novel.

My Review:

I was hooked by the first book in this series, the main character, Abit, back then a boy relegated to the porch of his folks’ little general store. The character has now grown, been married, become a father of boys of his own, and lost the bond with their mother along the way. The character is so magnetic, you can’t help but follow him every step of the way through his adventures, triumphs, and sorrows.

Abit Bradshaw met Della Kincaid when she took a short sabbatical into the mountains and caught sight of Laurel Falls and little general store where she stopped for snacks. Inexorably drawn to the beauty of the area and the boy, she discovered the store was for sale. Abit and Della form a very special bond and discover that together they have a knack for solving mysteries.

The character-driven mysteries may feature subtle, off-page mayhem that includes murder. This installment brings back a person in his history that he and Della worked with before. Dusk Holt is in serious trouble again, not the first time, but this time he didn’t do it. Abit can’t deny him support.

It’s not long before the reader is immersed in the atmospheric location and both the main and support characters. The chapters switch POV that deepen engagement with them as well as the area and the introduction to “benevolent vigilantism.” Interesting until it turns to the much darker mind of the antagonist.

This installment also introduces a possible new romance for Abit, who, on the surface appears to be a pleasing and positive match. Guess I’m still disappointed in the loss of Fiona to think about him falling for another woman. He seems such the innocent. Is she?

Of course, Keely joins Abit and Della in the investigation, following the clues, gaining intel and it’s possible we are given to see that this addition might work. Throughout there are subtle miscues, twists, and turns, but they manage to pull it together and provide a satisfying conclusion.

As each book brings a unique storyline, even location, you might expect to read this as a standalone. There are references to previous characters/events. I’ve read most, not all, of the books in the series, including Deep in the Forest, and enjoyed them all.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery Series, Cozy Craft & Hobby Mysteries, Christian Suspense
Publisher: Lynda McDaniel Books
ASIN: B0D2VPYMR1
Print Length: 316 pages
Publication Date: April 26, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US  |  Amazon-UK   |   Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo

 

The Author: ** For a free starter library of two books in the series, go to LyndaMcDanielBooks.

[Lynda McDaniel] I love writing page-turners—both fiction and nonfiction. And I love coaching others to do the same, living into their dreams of writing books.

I got my start as a writer in the most unlikely place—a town of 200 people in the mountains of North Carolina. But living there changed my life in so many positive ways. My Appalachian Mountain Mysteries–“A Life for a Life,” “The Roads to Damascus,” “Welcome the Little Children,” “Murder Ballad Blues,” “Deep in the Forest,” “Up the Creek,” “Unwrapped,” and “About Dusk”–pay homage to the people of Appalachia who taught me so much. And to Mollie the Wonder Dog, who plays a role in every book starting with “The Roads to Damascus” (called Millie in that book).

To read more stories from the mountains and to keep up to date with Abit, Della, and the gang (plus receive a free novelette, “Waiting for You,” that pulls back the curtain on Abit’s and Della’s lives before they met in Laurel Falls), just head over to my website, Lynda McDaniel Books.

Over the years, I’ve written more than 1,200 articles for major magazines and newspapers. I’m proudest of the 21 books I’ve written. My nonfiction books include my Write Faster Series. “Words at Work,” which I wrote straight from my heart, is a much-needed response to all the questions and concerns people have about writing today. (It won top honors from the National Best Books Awards.) “How Not to Sound Stupid When You Write” and “How to Write Stories that Sell” complete the series.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but I’ve lived all over this country—from the Midwest to the Deep South to Appalachia to the Mid-Atlantic to the Pacific Northwest. Whew! I finally settled by the sea in Eureka, California, a place that reflects the values I learned while living in the mountains of North Carolina, all those years ago.

http://www.lyndamcdanielbooks.com

©2024 V Williams