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A KEVIN R. TIPPLE BOOK REVIEW:
According to the author bio, June Shaw lives next to a lazy bayou somewhere in Southern Louisiana. Such a setting provides a wonderful metaphor for this good cozy style novel. The book moves at a slow languid pace while danger lurks deep in the murky waters…..
Relative Danger By June Shaw Five Star Publishing http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar 2006 Hardback ISBN # 1-59414-531-8
After the death of her beloved husband, Freddy, Cealie Gunther sort of drifted before gradually rediscovering herself. That process was interrupted by a new man in her life. Gil Thurman, owner of a chain of restaurants, represented security as well as another loss of self. So, she ultimately and very regretfully, recently ended the relationship and tried to move on in every way.
Her recent travels have led her back to Chicago as she plans on seeing her granddaughter graduate High School. Kat is just days away from the end of her Senior year and fulfilling her own dream as well as her deceased mother’s most reverent wish. Her mother, Nancy, died just a couple of years ago and wanted so badly for Kat to achieve what she had never done and had always regretted. The two years since her death which took away so much happiness and joy in their lives has been hard on Kat and her father, Roger, but Cealie is sure things are getting better each and every day.
That is until she arrives and begins to find out there are serious problems. Her son, Roger, is still in a deep depression over the loss of Nancy as well as being totally oblivious to what her daughter Kat is going through every day. A recent death at her High School is being investigated as a murder and Kat’s favorite teacher as well as a sort of surrogate mom is being investigated as the suspect. Kat’s grades and possible scholarship opportunities are in danger as she is skipping school and doing poorly on tests.
Cealie isn’t about to let Kat flush everything away that she has worked so hard for the last twelve years. Not only did she make a death bed promise to her daughter in law Nancy that she would see her graduate she isn’t one to stay out of things that concern her family. Kat’s problem definitely does and she jumps in with both feet and little thought as to how to help. When not eating out and running into Gill at almost every meal, changing cars and considering the idea that natural burnt sienna is a realistic color and that her wants and desires aren’t dead yet, she goes undercover at Kat’s school to help her anyway she can. Along with a strong dose of culture shock regarding today’s student population as compared to thirty years ago, she also develops a suspect list and has a dangerous brush or two of her own. While her blundering around everywhere causes problems for Kat and a ton of embarrassment, it also serves to stir up a killer determined to finish what was started weeks ago.
This is a fun comfortable read that along with several interesting characters and a mystery that will keep readers guessing to the end, revolves around a heroine who though old enough to be a grandmother isn’t about to act like one anytime soon. Instead of baking cookies, she just dusts the stove. She has a condo and a life where playing the occasional practical joke or having the wicked thought isn’t out of line at all. Readers may be put in the mindset that Cealie Gunther could easily be what Stephanie Plum would be if she was just twenty years older and quit blowing up cars. Cealie isn’t exactly easy on her transportation choices either.
The result is an often funny heroine that works her way steadily through the lives of others for 303 pages. Along the way she dispenses life advice, the occasional recipe, and a unique idea regarding the storage and use of cookbooks. Some might call her eccentric but this reader would call her fun.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2007 |