Hush My Mouth

by: Cathy Pickens

Published by: St. Martin's Minotaur

Reviewed by Knevits Stephens

Avery Andrews was a big lawyer in Columbia. She has recently returned to her hometown of Dacus. She is settling in as the small town lawyer taking care of wills and driving under the influence charges. She gets a big case when Fran French from Atlanta shows up with a missing person’s case.

Fran tells Avery that Neanna was like a sister to her and is now missing. The last Franknew Neanna was headed to Dacus to go to a concert at one of the clubs. Fran last heard from Neanna on Friday and it is now Monday.

Neanna has no family left. She was raised by her grandmother who has recently passed away. Her mom died years ago and her aunt Wenda was murdered in Dacus almost two decades ago. Wenda’s killer was never found and Fran believes that Neanna may be searching for answers to her aunt’s death.

Three kids in town are looking for paranormal sightings and going ons. Some of the locals refer to the kids as ghost hunters. They are advertising in the local newspaper and asking locals for locations to go to find paranormal readings. The ghost hunters are thinking about making a movie and have asked Melvin Bertram to invest in it.

Avery shares an office building with Melvin Bertram. Avery is on the case looking for Neanna, who turns up dead. Now she must follow Neanna’s steps to see what happened and look for possible links to Wenda’s death at the same time. While working this case she also finds time to make sure the ghost hunters stay out of trouble.

All of this going on and Avery still finds time for square dancing and ghost stories.

I really liked the characters in the book. I like how Avery has a job to do but she never forgets her family. There is always time to work but we all need to take time for outings once in a while just as Avery does. I really like how the ghost hunters are thrown into the book to add twists and turns along the way.

Armchair Interviews says: This is Cathy’s fifth book.

Author’s Web site: http://www.CathyPickens.com