Reviews—Should Old Acquaintance be Dead

Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book © Carolynn Evans, 2008

The second sleuthing tale featuring detective Kerry Grant, Should Old Acquaintance Be Dead by Jean Sheldon, is absolutely delectable. It is a quick, satisfying read. Bast Press says “She carries a gun, a badge, and a laptop” but leaves out the tenacity that is her earmark trait.

Tough-as-nails cop, feisty, independent to a fault, solving a twenty-five-year-old murder on her forced vacation. While investigating, a second and nearly identical murder takes place. In both cases, she is the one found over the dead bodies. When she was in high school, she stumbled over Shayna Donovan, a fellow classmate. Now, as a decorated cop in the Chicago police department, she finds the still-warm corpse of Lisa Whittaker in the exact same location on stage at the Pulaski High School auditorium. Discovering Shayna all those years ago helped define Kerry’s path in life - to become the best cop she could. With Lisa’s death, she is determined to prove that neither was accidental.

This is a great piece of detective work with incredibly vibrant side characters - even the cats and stuffed bear have entertaining roles to play. Kerry’s best friend, neighbors, old schoolmates, partner, and even the suspects make for a very colorful story. The most fascinating character, however, is not the stubborn detective: Bast is a serene and slightly eccentric former classmate whom no one knew well. She plays a small but dynamic role that breathes life into the story through bald cynicism and curiosity.

Complete with telemarketing scams, dramatic attempts on Kerry’s life, a tentative renewed romance on the side and a heavy dose of sardonic humor, Should Old Acquaintance Be Dead is perfect. A Chilling Goodbye is book three, and is expected to be released during the spring of 2008.

Reviewed by Shelley Glodowski, Senior Reviewer Midwest Book Review

Jean Sheldon, like so many baby boomers, picked up a guitar at age thirteen, which began a life of creative endeavors in the overlapping worlds of music; art; and literature. Her current passion is writing mysteries, which has produced the current Kerry Grant mystery series. SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE DEAD is the follow-up to her entertaining first Kerry Grant, Chicago Detective, book entitled IDENTITY MURDER. Jean Sheldon is planning on publishing the third installment of Kerry's adventures in spring of 2008, which is titled A CHILLING GOODBYE.

Kerry Grant, Chicago Detective, has not taken a vacation since her parents were killed in an accident during their own vacation. When she is pressed by her superior and partner to take a vacation, she relents by attending her twenty-fifth class reunion with her childhood friend. Naturally murder rears its ugly head in the form of a recreated and unsolved mystery in which Kerry finds both the old murder victim and the new murder victim. Kerry's old classmates figure into the mix, but she takes a while to summon all the ingredients:

"She told them about the reunion and what happened twenty-five years earlier. 'I always knew Shayna's death wasn't an accident, and that they set up the sandbag to make it look that way. Now, Lisa Whitaker, who wanted to show me what she found about Shayna's death, is murdered. That's why we were meeting on the stage. Whatever she discovered convinced her that Shayna didn't die because of a bad snap hook. All I need to do is figure out what she saw and what it meant."

Jean Sheldon has a terrific imagination, and her plotting of this mystery reunites the characters from her first mystery who become Kerry's "civilian detectives." Kerry is the same stubborn and impetuous character who risks life and limb to right a wrong. She is a lovable heroine who needs help getting around for much of the story after almost being killed by someone who doesn't want her snooping.

SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE DEAD once again uses computer and telephone fraud to warn readers of the new cyber-crime that is lurking. In the meantime, sharing Kerry's adventures and reluctant romance is a great time. A wonderful read!
 

Reviewed by Nancy Eaton Bestsellersworld.com

The 25th High School Reunion is one that Kerry Grant will never forget!
The year was 1981. Kerry was a student at Pulaski High School. She had made arrangements to meet Shayna so they could work on the new stage set. Kerry arrived about ten minutes late. As she entered the auditorium, it was dark and she yelled for Shayna to turn on the lights. Kerry found her way to the stage using the wall as her guide. She bumped into something and thought it was a sandbag. Kerry bent down to find the edges and realized it was not what she thought it to be. As the lights went up Kerry did see a sandbag but lying next to it was Shayna’s body. The official investigation ruled Shayna’s death an accident. They believed the snap hook holding the sandbag’s strap malfunctioned and released it from the steal grid above.

Kerry did not believe this was an accident. To make matters worse, Kerry was questioned almost as though she did something to hurt Shayna. Why? They thought Kerry was too calm about all of this.

Now, twenty-five years later, Kerry and Jennifer receive invitations to their high school reunion. After some discussion, they decided to attend. They would enjoy seeing some old friends but the real motivation for Kerry is to try and find out something more about what happened to Shayna.
Kerry’s wish did come true when she ran into Lisa Whitaker at the reunion. Lisa told Kerry she could prove someone murdered Shayna. Lisa told Kerry to meet her on the stage in twenty minutes and she would show her exactly what happened to Shayna. As Kerry headed for the auditorium to meet Lisa, she began to have an eerie feeling too similar to what happened the last time she went there to meet Shayna. What happens as Kerry gets to the stage?

Is Kerry able to solve this case before she becomes a victim?

Jean Sheldon writes a mystery that is so entertaining to read. Not only does this novel keep you in suspense but it also gives you several laughs along the way. The reader will laugh when Kerry and Jennifer discuss the pros and cons of attending their high school reunion (mostly cons). I am sure this will sound familiar to many readers who are trying to decide whether or not to attend their high school reunion. The attribute I like the most about Jean Sheldon’s writing is her character portrayal. As she introduces each character, the reader will get a very clear image in their mind as to what the character looks like. This is not only done for the main character, Kerry, but even for the ones who play a minor part in the book. Readers will like Kerry Grant because she is strong willed and determined to do things her way – including wearing jeans to her high school reunion! Every now and then it takes this reviewer a little time to really get “into” a novel; however this was not the case with Should Old Acquaintance Be Dead. I was hooked right from the beginning and had that feeling throughout the entire book.

Once you read this novel, you will also want to go back and read “Identity Murder” which is the first Kerry Grant novel. We look forward to the next Detective Kerry Grant novel “A Chilling Goodbye” which will be released in the Spring of 2008. Be sure to add “Should Old Acquaintance Be Dead” to your list of books to read. It is well worth it!

Bast Press

www.bastpress.com