Amaryllis, Mississippi is a scrappy little town of strong backbone and southern hospitality. A brick-paved Main Street, a park, and a legendary ghost in the local cemetery are all part of its heritage. Everybody knows everybody in Amaryllis, and gossip wafts on the breeze. Its people are friendly, its families tight. On the surface Amaryllis seems much like the bright and lovely flower for which it's named. But the Amaryllis flower is poisonous. In the past three years five unsolved murders have occurred within the town. All the victims were women, and all were killed in similar fashion in their own homes. And just two nights ago-a sixth murder. Clearly a killer lives among the good citizens of Amaryllis. And now three terrified women are sure they know who he is-someone they love. None is aware of the others' suspicions. And each must make the heartrending choice to bring the killer down. But each woman suspects a different man.
Publishers Weekly,Three women conquer their worst fears and overcome obstacles in a chauvinistic Southern town where a serial killer has "gone to ground"- become as hard to dig up as an amaryllis bulb in a garden. Cherrie Mae Devine, Tully Phillips, and Deena Ruckland each reveal a secret and become a trio of praying detectives determined to catch the killer terrorizing the small town of Amaryllis. Each woman thinks the killer is someone perilously close to her. Clue by clue they come closer to the big surprise. An otherwise intelligent Cherrie Mae speaks in unconvincing ebonic dialect when she is supposed to be the smartest person in the ensemble. The way the author italicizes "po" in "police" would be funny, if it were Mark Twain and the 1800s ("It's just that I done tol everthing I need to the police"). The book moves along briskly, alternating the three women's voices as they each work through the mystery and come together to share information. The popular novelist's talent continues to flower despite these flaws, and sales will flourish come spring. Agent: Alive Communications. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
