Dead Dancing Women by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Dead Dancing Women by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Fans of Sarah Graves will love the Emily Kincaid mysteries by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli!

“Every woman who’s ever struggled with saying no, fitting in, and balancing independence against loneliness will adore first-timer Emily.” —Kirkus Reviews

Following an ugly divorce and the death of her father, Emily Kincaid decides what she needs most is peace and quiet and time to think, so the part-time journalist and full-time struggling mystery writer relocates to a remote house in the woods of northern Michigan. When a severed head shows up in her garbage can, Emily knows she’s been singled out, and suddenly her peaceful solitude feels a lot like isolation and vulnerability.

Discovering that the victim was a member of the Women of the Moon, a group of older local ladies who sing and dance around a bonfire in the woods late at night, Emily’s at a loss to know why anyone would want to hurt one of them. The women claim it’s a harmless act in praise of Mother Earth, a way to feel young again, but certain townspeople don’t see it that way. As Emily digs deeper, more of the women are turning up dead.

Knowing she’ll have to root out a killer to save her peaceful paradise, Emily teams up with the cantankerous Deputy Dolly and begins navigating between eccentric town gossips and reclusive neighbors who would rather be left alone. When the killer gets too close for comfort, Emily knows she’ll have to put aside her fears before the natural life she’s chosen comes to a grisly and very unnatural end.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I began this book, I looked at the cover and the title and thought it would be a gritty, forensics based crime novel. Instead, it is rather like a more complex cosy mystery, but one that I fell in love with rapidly.

Emily Kincaid is a great main character to lead a book like this. She’s witty, funny and determined. She doesn’t show a lot of fear, but isn’t TSTL either. She’s compassionate for the people around her, not just the victims, but the suspects as well. She interacted well with the supporting characters, including the four-legged ones.

This book has that hometown feel that makes you want to return for another novel. You start feeling as if you belong among the citizens and recognise the sights, sounds and scents of the local diner or the woods surrounding you. There were a few quirky spots in this book where I struggled to suspend belief, but for the most part, this was a great book that kept me happily turning pages.

I was hoping the author would delve a bit deeper into the nature and goddess worship aspect of the book, but sometimes not over describing also works, and in this case, she made it more about the characters than the religious practises. In the end, I saw why.

This would be a great book for anyone that wants something more substantial than a fluff cosy, but doesn’t want to wade through all of the CSI details. The characters are memorable, especially Dolly–loved her–and the plot is interesting.

I look forward to reading more of this author’s work and encourage you to check it out for yourself.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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