Series: Southern Eclectic (Book 2)An Atlanta ex-cop comes to sleepy Lake Sackett, Georgia, seeking peace and quiet -- but he hasn't bargained on falling for Frankie, the cutest coroner he's ever met.
Frankie McCready talks to dead people. Not like a ghost whisperer or anything -- but it seems rude to embalm them and not at least say hello.
Fortunately, at the McCready Family Funeral Home &
Bait Shop, Frankie's eccentricities fit right in. Lake Sackett's embalmer and
county coroner, Frankie's goth styling and passion for nerd culture mean she's
not your typical Southern girl, but the McCreadys are hardly your typical
Southern family. Led by Great-Aunt Tootie, the gambling, boozing,
dog-collecting matriarch of the family, everyone looks out for one another --
which usually means getting up in everyone else's business.
Maybe that's why Frankie is so fascinated by new sheriff
Eric Linden...a recent transplant from Atlanta, he sees a homicide in every
hunting accident or boat crash, which seems a little paranoid for this sleepy
tourist town. What's he so worried about? And what kind of cop can get a job
with the Atlanta PD but can't stand to look at a dead body?
Frankie has other questions that need answering first --
namely, who's behind the recent break-in attempts at the funeral home, and how
can she stop them? This one really does seem like a job for the sheriff -- and
as Frankie and Eric do their best Scooby-Doo impressions to catch their man,
they get closer to spilling some secrets they thought were buried forever.
Fun book. Frankie was one of my favorite characters from
the first book Sweet Tea And Sympathy, so I was happy to see her get her own
story. Frankie is the wild child of the family. She is impulsive, sassy,
snarky, and sarcastic, but also loving and loyal to her family. A survivor of
childhood leukemia, Frankie still lives at home with her very overprotective
parents. She longs to break out on her own but doesn't want to hurt their
feelings. When the pressure gets to be too much, she sneaks off to Atlanta for
a "hit it and quit it" night with a random man. One of those
encounters comes back to bite her when he shows up in Lake Sackett as the new
interim sheriff.
Eric was a cop in Atlanta until a confrontation gone
wrong sent him looking for a slower paced life and job. It takes him a while to
adjust, and in the meantime, he sees foul play in almost every death. This
brings him into frequent contact with town coroner and mortician Frankie, the
woman he hasn't been able to forget.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Frankie and Eric. The chemistry between them is strong, though each tries to
fight it. It was fun to see her jerk Eric's chain about his tendency to see
murder in the most normal of deaths. The barbs and insults that fly between
them highlight the emotion that both try to deny. Franke has to dial down the
snark when she goes to Eric for help catching the vandal who has targeted the
funeral home. Frankie is sure she knows who it is, but Eric believes in law and
order and evidence. As they worked together to catch the culprit, they frequently
clash over methods, but also grow closer emotionally. But when Frankie goes a
little too far with one of her plans, it puts Eric's job in jeopardy and causes
a rift between them. Harsh words were spoken, and though they hurt, they also created
some serious self-reflection. I ached a bit for Frankie as she saw herself
through new eyes, but I also cheered for her and the changes she made. I liked
her big moment at the end as she and Eric realized that they belonged together.
As in the previous book, life in Lake Sackett is not
dull. Small town life has everyone poking their noses in everyone else's lives,
making some go to extreme lengths to get a little privacy. Small town politics
also invade every facet of life, from the PTA to the town government. Frankie
and her cousin Margot got yet another taste of this when it came time to plan
the annual Trunk-or-Treat for Halloween. The planning session was a riot, from
deciding on the venue to arguments over costumes allowed. I loved seeing Margot
maintain control and give as good as she gets in the process. The other big
story is the case of the vandalism at the funeral home. Since Frankie is confident
who is behind it, she is ready to have it out with him, but Eric reminds her
that without solid evidence, he can't do anything about it. I could feel
Frankie's frustration, especially when one attempt goes so badly wrong. I loved
that she learned her lesson, and when the opportunity came to set a trap, she
was extremely clever about it. I loved how it played out and seeing the punk
get what was coming to him. There was also a nice little twist that had a
connection to Eric.
I enjoyed seeing more of Frankie's family members. Aunt
Tootie is always a hoot with her abundance of rescue dogs and her unfiltered
commentary on everything. I liked catching up on what is happening with Margot
and Kyle, especially the surprise that Margot is facing. I'm looking forward to
seeing how that works out. I saw more of the relationship between Frankie and her
parents and completely understood her frustration. Their overprotectiveness was
definitely over the top, though it was also understandable. It was difficult
for her to break away without feeling guilty about hurting their feelings. Their
confrontation over the issue was emotional but productive.
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