Judy Clemens is the author of the Grim Reaper and Stella Crown mysteries. She lives in Ohio, where she writes, cooks, and enjoys her day job at a metal recycling yard.
"Those willing to accept the fantastical premise will find
themselves caught up in Casey’s quest to come to terms with her
past and move on." — Booklist review by Barbara Bibel
"latest adventure provides mystery, romance"—Kirkus
2005 Anthony and Agatha nominee for Best First Novel for Till the
Cows Come Home
“A sprightly tale and a surprising ending, along with Clemens's
trademark quirky characters.” –Kirkus review for Different
Paths
In Clemens's flawed fourth Grim Reaper mystery (after 2011's Flowers for Her Grave), tough-girl crime-solver Casey Maldonado and her sidekick, Death, hitchhike from Florida to her nameless hometown, where her younger brother, Ricky, has been charged with murdering Alicia McManus, a waitress he'd been dating. In order to prove Ricky innocent, Casey and her "sweet, good-hearted, handsome" new friend, Eric Van Diepenbos, have to untangle Alicia's complicated, tragic past. In between bashing baddies with her hapkido training, Casey suffers such grief over her dead husband and baby son that she wants Death to take her. She also fights to keep her hormones under control when in Eric's presence, but the sex role reversal of hard-boiled detective and gentle supporting pal never quite comes off because Casey's too snarky with Eric and he's too forbearing for their mutual attraction to be convincing. The self-conscious reverberations of classic detective fiction dwindle off into a few feeble whimpers. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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