Swamp Spook

I can see there already have been a number of positive reviews for “Swamp Spook.” I trust my review, from a male perspective, might be helpful in the discussion.

If youre looking for a character-driven story thatll keep you reading late into the evening, with the drapes pulled and your guard dog close by just in case, especially a book in which villains and their pursuers speak using the street language you would expect, well, Swamp Spook is probably going to disappoint. This latest tale by Jana Deleon is the first in the series that I have read.

Fortunately, the author made allowances for newcomers to her style of fiction, by telling us what we need to know to enjoy this as a stand-alone. I praise her for doing so.

If youre still here, welcome to my reading room

POV: First person. A friendly, nice, chatty CIA agent tells us about her experiences, hopes and dreams while solving a complicated murder case. Its more of Aurora Teagarden Mysteries than Jessica Fletchers Murder She Wrote. As such, it is simplistic crime fiction. Not a complaint, just the way I see it.

BLUSH FACTOR: No worries with this. Read aloud to anyone you know and have no fear of blushing.

ADVENTURE: Yes, youll find fictional Sinful to be a town just right for you. You can find a web site for the town, initiated by the author. I do wish the town were real and was as portrayed in Swamp Spook. If youre interested in the site, just type in sinful, Louisiana Jana Deleon.

THE WRITING: This story almost feels like a Hallmark Mysteries movie. Aurora Teagarden came to mind as I was reading this. In fact, a cozy series set in the bayou area could be a huge hit, so why doesnt Hallmark give this writer a contract?

I think where this writer shines is in imparting information to us by drawing a picture or through the use of smooth dialogue. Certainly, few cozy authors do so as smoothly as Ms DeLeon.

GRAMMAR, EDITING & SUCH: Although probably not flawless, it certainly is well-edited.

CHARACTER: This is more a plot-driven story. Although our heroine does grow, dont expect too much. After all, this IS intended as a quick read.

Excerpt

Gertie and Ida Belle stared at the body, then at me.

What are you doing? Gertie asked.

Calling Carter, I said as I dialed. That personman, Im guessing, based on body structureis dead. Dont touch anything.

Carter didnt answer his phone, so I left a message for him to come to my location in the maze as quickly as possible and told him it was a huge emergency. Then I sent a text saying the same. Ida Belle called the person working the front of the maze and told him there was a problem inside and to keep people out until further notice. Gertie, apparently not wanting to be left out of all the phoning, pulled out her cell as well. Then she started taking pictures.

What the heck are you doing? Ida Belle asked.

Documenting the scene, Gertie said. Well need this for our investigation and you know Carter wont share.

What investigation? Ida Belle asked. That man is dead, probably murdered, unless someone thinks its funny to go around leaving corpses in random places. Were not law enforcement officers. We dont investigate murders.

We investigate them when one of our friends is involved, Gertie said as she zoomed in for a close-up of the hatchet.

None of our friends would be involved in something like this, Ida Belle said, looking and sounding exasperated.

Not voluntarily, Gertie said. But this is Fortunes scene and shes been swinging that hatchet around all night. That might be congealed blood on the blade.

I leaned over and took a closer look. Sure enough, the bottom of the hatchet was damp with dark red goo that could be blood. It definitely wasnt the gel Id used earlier, because it was dried by the time I went on break. Crap, I said. I think shes right. Ida Belle blew out a breath. This could be a problem. I held in a string of curse words. Of course, I hadnt hauled

DeLeon, Jana. Swamp Spook (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 13) (Kindle Locations 365-381). J&R Publishing LLC. Kindle Edition.

BOTTOM LINE

Among the Cozy Mystery genre, Swamp Spook by Jana DeLeon is among the best in its class. If I were rating it as such, Id rate it five stars. It is SUPERB among Cozies. However, I am rating it among all classes of fiction. So, I have to be frank here

Four stars out of five. Still, four stars is certainly a strong recommendation to read.

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It is incredible that this series with its far-fetched premise of an ex-CIA operative living in small town Louisiana, partnered with colorful much older women who were spies in the Vietnam war can remain so much fun after the twelve books that came before. Talent. Writing talent that can still make me laugh and keep turning the pages. Fortune is out now as ex-CIA who had been hiding under a fake identity as a librarian from a foreign arms dealer. She and her partners in mayhem are running a private investigation business. Her first real client is surprising when her deputy sheriff boyfriend quietly hires her to solve the appearance of a decapitated corpse in the towns Halloween spook maze. The twist is that the man had died several days before apparently from natural causes, and his body was stolen from the morgue. Was it murder too? After this many Miss Fortune books, you know that the action will be non-stop, the laughs will be frequent, there will be slapstick, casseroles and baked goods, and everything will come together in the end. These are not books that will change your life or the world. But sometimes they are just what you need and always they are diverting. Writing humor is very difficult, but Jana Deleon makes it look easy in this series. You might not need to read the entire series in order, but should read Lousiana Longshot first so that you understand the characters and the town. Besides, it is one of the funniest books that I have ever read. Even laughing silently, I woke my husband. Now he reads the series too.

I have enjoyed this series, but this book is not my favorite. I feel like the series is veering into “jumping the shark” territory with this book. I know that over-the-top humor is part of the fun of the series, but this felt like too much. For example, a top-notch CIA agent, just retired, is willing to risk burning down a medical office with smoke bombs and pyrotechnic devices, just to get a look at an autopsy report? That kind of thing seems like it requires a suspension of reality that just isn’t reasonable. I hope that the series will continue without becoming too absurd.

This book probably rates 3 stars for me, but I’m giving it 4 because of my overall enjoyment of the series.

Fortune has received her Private Investigator (P.I.) license and she gets Ida Belle and Gertie to be her consultants. Sinful, Louisiana, is having a week long Halloween Festival with games, food, crafts and a scary maze to walk through. Fortune gets to wear a executioner’s costume. After a 30 minute break everybody is back in position in the maze and Fortune discovers the fake body is real. As usual Celia thinks Fortune is lying about a real dead body and goes and tries to pull off the head. The head is real and comes off in Celia’s hands and she discovers it is a real head and throws it up in the air and passes out. Celia is so mad and calls the Louisiana governor and tells some horrible lies about Fortune and the headless dead man. Crapola hits the fan and a comedy of errors occur around Fortune, Ida Belle and Gertie who are trying to find out who the dead body belongs to and why it was in the maze. Deputy Carter is sort of relieved of duty, as the State Police are taking over the investigation. Carter asks Fortune to look into everything and this is the beginning of a who done it. Trouble follows the three ladies from one disaster to another. This book is hilarious and the twists and turns are great. On to the next book.

Book 13 in the series and it did not disappoint! Everyone now knows who Fortune is, and she is in Sinful to stay! I love the depth of friendships and how they work together to solve whatever crime happens, to the dismay of the sheriff! Sinful goes full out for Halloween, and everything is going according to plan, until the dead body shows up! I laughed out loud, and I could not put the book down, trying to figure out who did it! Now that fortune is a private eye, I expect many more shenanigans with her, Ida Belle and Gertie.

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