Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape

***** Reluctant Heroine   Review by Rox Burkey

Author Cindy Davis continues the Joy Wagner mysteries with Diablo the toucan assisting from an ariel perspective. The clues keep stacking up leading readers on a merry journey.

Joy is a delightful character portrayed as loyal friend, pizza lover, and a psychic with insights to people, places, and events related to song lyrics. In the prior volumes Joy finds herself in the thick of the mysteries and crime in Uncertain, Florida. She’s taking no chances on this trip back for a wedding. The snippet below sets the stage for her to distance herself after Diablo gives her a strange bag of powder.

    “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he says to the dispatcher, who’s chuckling behind a hand.

    We three step outside; all the while the chief is muttering about what he’ll write in his report. I hold in a giggle as he gazes up and down the sidewalk, clearly at a loss for which direction to go.

    Finally, Eddie says, “Okay, you two, let’s get moving.”

     Whoa, wait. He expects me to go? “Ah, no,” I say. “I’m staying out of all this stuff while I’m here. No more investigating, no more murder attempts, no more trips to the hospital. I only came for the wedding.

Then I’m outta here.”

     Diablo hops to Eddie’s shoulder, ready for an adventure.

Author Davis delivers masterful, snappy dialogue that moves the story along and a plot that keeps readers turning pages. This is a compelling read with exciting twists and turns that keep readers guessing to the very end. Diablo is a perfect sidekick, essential to the story.

I recommend this story for those who enjoy contemporary mysteries, likeable characters, and quirky reluctant heroes like Joy. It is a great single read, but the series is so delightful you’ll want to read them all. Thanks, Cindy Davis, for creating this series. Looking forward to the next tasty installment.

About the Author

I wrote my first mystery at the age of seven. All I recall is that it was set in Egypt. The funny thing…I’ve since learned my first incarnation was in Egypt. Was my mind trying to tell me something at that age? No idea. My next book was thirty-odd years later, and it set the career for me as a mystery author. Over the years, I’ve won some awards and achieved a number of Best Sellers, so it’s been a good run. I am also a 23-year veteran editor (www.fiction-doctor.com) working with both fiction and non-fiction.

If you enjoyed this story, please take a moment to review the book—authors live and die by reviews. If you’re unsure how to do it, just go to amazon.com, click on Write a Customer Review. After that, all you do is choose from one to five stars (hopefully it’s five stars!) and write the thing you liked most—it can be as simple as “I loved this story” or “The characters are awesome.” Thanks so much.

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