Come Homicide or High Water (Welcome Back to Scumble River)
From New York Times bestselling author Denise Swanson comes Come Homicide or High Water, a cozy mystery full of twist and turns and small town charm! Because despite appearances, there's something fishy just below the surface of Scumble River...
You'll love getting to know this brand-new series from the author of the beloved Scumble River Mysteries. This book is:Welcome back to Scumble River! Skye Denison-Boyd is getting ready to return to work from her maternity leave and hoping for a peaceful year in her job as a school psychologist. But when an elderly woman disappears on her first day back and a disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school, Skye realizes that her return will be anything but quiet.
When the parent suing Skye's school is found dead and with the missing woman's case is still unsolved, Skye suspects the crimes are somehow linked. With her chief of police husband, Wally, at her side, Skye dives into the investigations. Now she and Wally barely have enough time for date night once the babies are asleep! But as tensions rise and Skye and Wally's suspect list lengthens, they start to wonder whether they'll be able to catch the guilty ones before tragedy strikes again.
Reviews (85)
This series should have ended with last book.
This will be unpopular but this book made me want to poke my eyes out. I have read all of this series and always enjoyed the little town drama. But COME HOMICIDE OR HIGH WATER is beyond ridiculous. I understand fiction, but please.......three month old babies do not sit, play with toys and entertain themselves AND no mother carrying two babies (in carrier or arms) can easily go up narrow metal steps, stand in a doorway to admire her handsome husband (that she doesn’t deserve—get over it) and watch him while he works out still holding her babies. For the love of Pete. As with most series the stories decline and it has happened in Scumble River. This is last one I will read.
Sorry when it ended
School psychologist and police consultant Skye Denison-Boyd may still be on maternity leave, but she knows her intern needs help and clearly isn’t getting it from the horrible principal or the others who said they would help in Skye’s absence. Skye wants the young woman to succeed, so helps her out where she can. A disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school because her little girl wasn’t assigned to the school’s gifted program, and winds up dead. At the same time, an elderly woman who may have Alzheimer’s disappears from Scumble River. Skye thinks the two cases may be related, and she and her husband, Chief of Police Wally Boyd, set out to solve the mysteries. I have enjoyed every single book in this series, from book 1 in the Scumble River Mysteries to this book 3 in the reboot. The reboot retains the same loveable, quirky (an in some cases, extremely annoying) characters, but moves them to present day, where the first part of the series was set in the 90s. I find Skye to be highly relatable. She seems very real to me. And I love the relationship between her and Wally, who was her school-girl crush. She has insecurities about her appearance (she’s “plus” size, and sometimes wonders how someone so stunningly attractive would pick her), but she struggles to overcome them and feel worthy of the relationship. Wally respects her abilities as a psychologist and frequently seeks her opinions on cases. Plus, she can get people to talk, where he can’t. The secondary characters are multi-dimensional and add humor to the stories. The author perfectly captures the eccentricities of a small town and how everyone knows everyone else’s business. Some long-running series grow stale for me, but not this one. The author manages to keep the situations and characters fresh and believable. I prefer mysteries that are character-driven, and like to find out whodunnit when the protagonist does. While I was hoping the killer would be a character I particularly dislike, the book took a left at the ending and I was surprised by the outcome. I also enjoyed that the author put a couple of secondary characters in the police sights; I thought this a nice change from the standard “bushy-haired stranger” or newcomer always being the guilty party. I have the entire series (both the old one and the reboot) in paperback. I am always happy to see a new book arrive. I know I’m going to get a nicely balanced mystery/romance/day-to-day-life of favorite characters. The Scumble River books hold my interest and keep me thinking about the story when I’m not reading. When they’re done I’m always a little sad, as I feel like these character have become friends over the years. I eagerly await the next entry in this enjoyable series.
Like Visiting Your Favorite Family Members
I have read all of the Stumble River mysteries, and this is the best one so far. It was like visiting your favorite family member and catching up on their news. Skye and Wally are new parents and finally getting to build a new house since theirs was destroyed in the tornado. Even though Skye is still on maternity leave, she is still involve with helping her husband solve the mystery of a missing women and a murder. I highly recommend this mystery. If you never have read the Stumble River series, get them and sit down for an enjoyable read.
Come Homicide or High Water
This book was very interesting. I was thinking I knew who murdered the Mother but boy was I wrong. I like a book that is holding my attention and not revealing the ending to quickly. I was sure it was the principle. Not really on anyone's radar was the caretaker for the elderly woman who disappeared at the start of the book. It did make it fun to try to figure out the disappearance of the older lady and then the murder of the Mother of the little girl from the school. Of course Skye is not back at the school full time yet. She still has several weeks of maternity leave left. She is there to help out the intern who is filling in for her. Skye is also working with the Police department to figure out the murder. She sits in on the questioning to help her husband figure out if they are lying. When they go to the house to check out things is when they find the killer and see what she is up to. Great read. Thank to Denise for this fun book.
A Grand Return to Scumble River
One of my favorite mysteries to date in this series! I think having Wally’s perspective really breathes new life into these books and I have very much enjoyed my return to Scumble River. The In-laws behaved well and the supporting characters who don’t usually get the time to shine really stood out in this installment (looking at you, Zelda and Judy). I also listened to the audiobook version for the first time in 20-something books and I LOVED it. The narrator does an amazing job and really helped me connect more with the characters. Wonderful cozy!
Breaks big rule of mystery writers
SPOILER ALERT!!! The first rule of mystery writers is to leave clues so the reader has a chance of figuring out the killer. In this book, it’s like the writer had to meet a deadline, and Revealed the killer to be someone who, until the end, had NO apparent connection nor involvement with the victim! Wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!
Skye gets back at Homer, finally
I have followed Skye Denison through all her books because I was hooked from the first one. A series can get repetitive but in Come Homicide or High Water, I felt a fresh wind. There are the same elements and people, some new ones and some modern twists come in which make it feel real. And the little "fairy dust" from the last book could be still there. I loved the book and am waiting for the next one from Ms Swanson. I would love to hear something from her other series, the Dime store, too.
Surprise Twist!
This is another great addition to the Scumble River series with a couple of great surprises! Usually I can guess "whodunit", but not this time! Uncle Dante is his usually smarmy self, Homer is STILL obnoxious, May will always and forever be nosing into Skye and Wally's business, and you've GOT to lover the Dooziers--especially Earl! What happened to the missing woman, and who killed Loretta's new law clerk?! If you haven't read this yet, you really should!
A surprise ending was perfectly written
Another great book from Denise Swanson! She carefully includes Scumble River favorites within the storyline. These characters are included throughout the book without making readers confused. I was happy that they were all included because they are what has helped create this series. She skillfully includes many characters that adds to the charm of this series. I was so entertained by the different events in the book that I couldn't figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed. I love that I kept guessing who the murderer was and why. I look forward to the next book and learning more about these fantastic characters in this series.
Delightful series
Another winner from Denise Swanson. I have loved every installment in this series. Skye Dennison-Boyd is on maternity leave with her twins when an elderly woman disappears from her home AND her contractor's wife turns up dead. The entire cast of characters that make Scumble River so colorful are prominently featured...Earl Doozier, Pru, Homer, and even May's goose 😂 I hope this charming and endearing series continues indefinitely.
Comments
Post a Comment