The Young Woman in the Shack
The advantage of falling behind in a series is that you can read books closer together. Admittedly, I still try to space books out instead of doing a true binge read, but I’m looking forward to my every other month visits with Jim and Sally as I continue Liz Milliron’s Laurel Highlands Mysteries. And Thicker Than Water was another good book.
For those new to the series, it features Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Duncan and defense attorney Sally Castle. When the series started, they had just met, but at this point in the series, they are dating and getting pretty serious. Along with navigating their relationship, they also have to figure out how to keep their jobs from impacting their relationship when the cases they are working on cross.
When a college student walks into Sally’s office asking for protection from a man, Sally is willing to help. But the young woman doesn’t give many details before she disappears.
Two days later, Jim is pulled into the hunt for a missing autistic young man. While the man is found, he is talking about a “sleeping blue lady” he saw in a nearby shack. Sure enough, there is a dead young woman there. And it’s the woman that came to Sally for help. Sally just can’t let it go, so she starts investigating on her own. Will the two be able to figure out what happened to the victim?
Given the main characters, I’m sure it’s no surprise that the books are more serious in tone than the cozy I often read. They also tackle some darker subjects. However, even when a book tackles a more serious subject, it does it with sensitivity and includes only as little detail as needed.
It isn’t long before Jim and Sally start to piece together several motives for the victim’s murder. I was pulled in and always had a hard time putting the book down. With both of them sharing viewpoint character duties, we got plenty of twists and plot advancement. Unfortunately, the climax was a little messy. All the questions were answered, but the way it came together was a bit more complex than we needed.
On the other hand, I continue to love Jim and Sally. Their relationship takes another step forward here, and I loved watching those moments. I’m just as invested in that story arc as I am the mystery they are facing in the current book. I also appreciated how they both handled this case in regards to their relationship given some of what’s happened before.
I’m glad I’m finally make the time to catch up on this series. With the great characters and the engaging mysteries, time spent reading these books is always well spent. Thicker Than Water is no exception.
Check out the rest of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries.
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