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Hanging Hannah |
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 Hanging Hannah byEvan Marshall Kensington Books 320 pages, 2000 ISBN 1575665506 Reviewed by PJ Nunn Read our reviews of Missing Marlene by Evan Marshall. Reviewed by PJ Nunn and by Susan McBride. Hanging Hannah is the second in the Jane Stuart and Winky series, and just as enjoyable as the first. Jane is a literary agent, still struggling to get on with her life after the sudden death of her husband and partner while raising an increasingly precocious 10-year-old son. Winky is, of course, her cat. Close enough to work in the New York metropolitan publishing arena, she enjoys living in the close-knit, village atmosphere of Shady Hills. After a fast-paced, high-pressure day, she can relax at the Hydrangea House Inn with members of her knitting club. It's such an idyllic setting, Jane opts to throw Nick's birthday party there. Who'd have thought the children, happily participating in a scavenger hunt, would discover a dead body hanging from a tree in the nearby woods? Mortified, Jane whisks Nick home, then sets out to comfort her friend and help find some answers. But the death that invaded Hydrangea House has everyone on edge. Comfortable old friends are behaving strangely, and Jane is trying to juggle new clients and a budding romance with Shady Hills detective Stan Greenburg. Luckily, he's with her when a business associate is discovered impaled on a letter opener. There's no question that Jane seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she knows nothing about the bizarre events that occupy every aspect of her life. Is it coincidence, or is there some common denominator they just haven't seen yet? When an author produces the second book in a series, it is always interesting to compare the two. Missing Marlene was an extremely promising first offering that set high standards for a sequel. From the outset, Hanging Hannah meets those standards. Marshall creates realistic characters and relationships, then offers reasonable explanations for seemingly irrational behavior. The plot features widely diverse threads that are seemingly unconnected, but effectively woven together in an unanticipated and satisfying conclusion. In Hanging Hannah, Marshall once again effectively transcends genre borders to deliver a gripping tale of murder and suspense that will cause readers to think twice about skeletons hidden in their own closets. |
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