Thursday, May 21, 2009

CAN'T NEVER TELL by Cathy Pickens (Thomas Dunne Books)



It wouldn't be a summer carnival without a house of horrors, and you can bet that Avery Andrews will be there, young niece Emma in hand. When Emma touches a chain-saw wielding mannequin and discovers a human bone, things heat up—even for July! The next day Avery goes to a picnic and one of the guests disappears. Suddenly, Avery is up to her neck in two mysteries, and readers are in for a delightful roller coaster ride. Southerners will delight in a realistic portrayal of us. Non-Southerners can see that Deliverance wasn't a documentary!

Pickens won the St. Martin's Malice Domestic award for Best FIrst Novel in 2004, and her books have gotten stronger—and funnier—as she goes along.

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