The Sisters, Texas Book 9
by
BECKI WILLIS
Genre: Cozy Mystery / Romance / Women Sleuths
Publisher: Clear Creek Publishing
Date of Publication: February 11, 2020
Publisher: Clear Creek Publishing
Date of Publication: February 11, 2020
Number of Pages: 228
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Hidden fortune. Hidden danger.
Madison Reynolds deCordova is about to uncover a dangerous secret…literally.
During In a Pinch Professional Services’s latest gig at an upholstery shop, Madison finds a chair that’s perfect for her husband’s birthday gift. At least it will be, once she removes the worn velvet. Hiding the chair at Granny Bert’s, Madison tackles her first solo upholstery project but soon discovers more than she bargained for! A hidden treasure beneath the cushion puts her in the middle of a new mystery and new danger.
The treasure isn’t her only problem. While helping a young boy find his lost dog, Madison lands on the wrong side of surly businessman Lamont Andrews. Meanwhile, best friend Genny is worried about one of her café patrons. Mr. Pruett’s wild stories are getting wilder each day, and now he’s missing. Plus, there’s the matter of a troublesome new habit Maddy seems to have acquired: breaking and entering. It’s a harsh term for simply trying to rescue a dog and save an old man.
Somehow, she knows it all fits together. But what does a lost dog, a cluttered old barn, Mr. Pruett’s disappearance, and a hidden treasure have to do with her chair? Now someone is stalking her and her grandmother, and Madison knows that danger is on its way.
As always, The Sisters are full of fun, excitement, family antics, and more danger than the law allows!
Madison Reynolds deCordova is about to uncover a dangerous secret…literally.
During In a Pinch Professional Services’s latest gig at an upholstery shop, Madison finds a chair that’s perfect for her husband’s birthday gift. At least it will be, once she removes the worn velvet. Hiding the chair at Granny Bert’s, Madison tackles her first solo upholstery project but soon discovers more than she bargained for! A hidden treasure beneath the cushion puts her in the middle of a new mystery and new danger.
The treasure isn’t her only problem. While helping a young boy find his lost dog, Madison lands on the wrong side of surly businessman Lamont Andrews. Meanwhile, best friend Genny is worried about one of her café patrons. Mr. Pruett’s wild stories are getting wilder each day, and now he’s missing. Plus, there’s the matter of a troublesome new habit Maddy seems to have acquired: breaking and entering. It’s a harsh term for simply trying to rescue a dog and save an old man.
Somehow, she knows it all fits together. But what does a lost dog, a cluttered old barn, Mr. Pruett’s disappearance, and a hidden treasure have to do with her chair? Now someone is stalking her and her grandmother, and Madison knows that danger is on its way.
As always, The Sisters are full of fun, excitement, family antics, and more danger than the law allows!
HALL WAYS REVIEW: Texas
author Becki Willis writes the most predictable, unpredictable cozy mysteries I
have ever read. Sitting on a Fortune is book nine of the fabulous The
Sisters, Texas Series, and readers who’ve read even one of the other books know
this: we will always learn some new historical factoid(s); we can count on laughs
and political rants from Granny Bert; something – be it by man or beast – will seriously
tug at our heartstrings; and we’ll be feeling all sassy-pants that we have the
mysteries solved right up until Willis throws a curveball (or five) and puts
us in our place.
I started the series with
book seven, then read one of the first five, then jumped to book eight
before reading Sitting on a Fortune. I am quite proud of myself because
as a reader who is typically a bit obsessive about reading series in order,
this lack of sequencing is outside my comfort zone. However, I’ve become comfortable
with skipping about in this series because Willis makes sure readers feel right
at home in her books, no matter where you begin. It’s a real talent to tell
just enough about the characters, their backgrounds, and their defining moments
that a reader feels welcome; Willis has that talent in spades. Every book is
welcoming with the perfect balance of enough information to make each story
work for all readers and to pique their interest to go back and read or re-read
prior installments.
The main premise of Sitting
on a Fortune is a junker’s dream come true – well, other than the threats
and danger that ensue after main character Maddy discovers treasure that’s been
sewn into an old chair. Let the investigation begin! One of my favorite elements
of the story is that, by design, the town’s graceful old library sits across
the street from Maddy’s house, and Maddy regularly takes advantage of what it
has to offer. I bring my own love of research and libraries to the scenes that
Willis so deftly describes: the smell of the books, the look of the old
furnishings, the order and organization of it all. These scenes remind readers
that while the internet can be a great resource for research, sometimes real
books, whose pages you feel and must flip through, have the best answers. At
the same time, I got a chuckle out of Maddy’s ulterior motive for going to the
library for another research trip because she had concerns about who might be tracking her own computer:
“Madison decided to walk
over to the public library and contaminate their browsers instead of her own.”
While the plots and
sub-plots and multiple stories are weaving their way around, what makes Sitting
on a Fortune (and all the books in the series) shine is the
characterization. These people feel real and familiar. Whether it’s that
annoying nosy Nellie or that spunky senior citizen, readers know these
small-town folks. At the same time, Becki Willis adds quirks that make the
people endearing – or at least memorable – so that even in a wide cast of
characters, there is no confusion between individuals. I got more than one giggle out
of how Maddy talks out loud to herself and frequently gets caught doing it. And how every time her husband Brash appears, even in their own bedroom, it startles Maddy. I
get you, Maddy.
Sitting on a Fortune satisfies
on many levels, but it’s in the relationships between people and within a community
that readers will be most gratified. That’s not to say everything is peachy in
the relationships; true, the love is flowing at the deCordova house, but they are
also surrounded by doses of envy, greed, and age-old grudges to keep things
interesting. One of my favorite relationships is the friendship between Maddy
and her best friend, Genny. The two of them manage to get themselves into all kinds
of pickles, and at times they remind me of Lucy and Ethel with their antics. Yet,
aside from the shenanigans, there is a real depth to their love and an unspoken
understanding of each other that only comes between people who’ve weathered
many storms together.
I highly recommend this
series for cozy mystery lovers and for those who enjoy small-town settings and situations
(no Uber?). Sitting on a Fortune has a neatly and quickly wrapped-up resolution, but careful readers will notice one loose thread that leaves a lingering question and just a hint of remaining danger. Happily, readers don’t have to wait long for book ten in the series
to come out; Rose by Any Other Name is set for an August 2020 release.
In the meantime, I’m going back to the first four books, which are now
available on audio (YAYYYYYY), so I can get fully up-to-speed on the characters and their backstories. (For an excellent full series review, visit Reading by Moonlight blog.)
Thank you to Lone Star Book
Blog Tours and to the author, who most generously supplied me an eBook ARC in
exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.
An avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking, unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel, but believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas Authors, Writer’s League of Texas, Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Professional Women, and the Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University and majored in Journalism.
Connect with Becki below. She loves to hear from readers and encourages feedback!
-------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
GRAND PRIZE: Kendra Scott necklace + eBook of Sitting on a Fortune
2nd Prize: Audio Codes for the first four The Sisters, Texas books
3rd Prize: Autographed paperback copy of Sitting on a Fortune
February 20-March 1, 20202nd Prize: Audio Codes for the first four The Sisters, Texas books
3rd Prize: Autographed paperback copy of Sitting on a Fortune
(U.S. Only)
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