A big thanks to publisher for offering me an ARC! As with all of Sarah Booth Delaney’s adventures the deep South, this one did not disappoint! Returning to this delightful mystery series after a long hiatus really felt like a long-overdue reunion with some old friends. This is the 26th in the series (wow!), and it’s clear that these characters have really come into their own over the decades.

Really, for me, the whodunnit is secondary to the beautiful Zinnia, Mississippi setting, where Sarah and her soulmate Sheriff Coleman Peters ride horses together amidst the rolling green hills to watch the sunrise…ah, such sweet bliss. Might I just add that it is about dang time these two finally got together! Ugh…all that silliness between Sarah and Graf is over and Coleman’s certifiably insane ex-wife is no longer imprisoning him by sheer guilt alone!

As for the cold-case mystery, I really must give it five stars! We’re dealing with a distraught woman looking for her missing daughter, an evil woman abuser with powerful connections, a mysterious raven, and an Edgar Allen Poe theme. The plot thickens when we learn the missing daughter is one of many troubled teens who vanished over the years. The intrigue really had me tearing through the pages until I finally reached the satisfying ending with zero plot holes.

This book really has it all—ghosts, seances, grave diggings and cute animal sidekicks to boot! I just loved this entire adventure and look forward to accompanying my girls, Tinkie and Sarah, as they embark on their next escapade through the Mississippi Delta alongside their fur-babies.