The Welcome Back to Scumble River series is one of my favorites! Prior to reading this series, I’d only met Skye Denison-Boyd once before in one of the last Scumble River books. Then along came this series, and I was hooked. Body Over Troubled Waters is the fourth book in this series. Though they can be read as stand-alone books, they’re much more enjoyable when you know the characters ahead of time! You’ll get to learn a bit about Skye in a guest post from author Denise Swanson.
Body Over Troubled Waters
by Denise Swanson
I received this book free; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.
Body Over Troubled Waters (Welcome Back to Scumble River)
by Denise Swanson
Publisher : Poisoned Pen Press (July 27, 2021)
Publication date : July 27, 2021
Print length : 352 pages
Love is deadly
Stupid Cupid is making School psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd regret returning to work after her maternity leave. It starts with an emergency school lockdown, continues with her godfather’s arrest by the state police, and ends with a dead body!
It’s every teacher and administrator’s worst nightmare–a school shooter lockdown. And even worse for Skye because she’s trapped in a tiny room with the district’s creepy superintendent, Dr. Wraige while they wait for the all-clear.
When Dr. Wraige turns up dead in his home just a short time later, is it a coincidence, or something more?
Skye joins her police chief husband, Wally, in an investigation that becomes more complicated by the minute. With a dead boss and a mysterious killer on the loose, Skye is caught between a rock and a heart place–but she won’t give up until Scumble River is safe once again.
Get to know Skye Denison-Boyd
Hi! I live in Scumble River, Illinois. Like my biographer, Denise, I’m a school psychologist. In many ways, it’s a challenging profession. Helping students is my number one priority, but the administration really doesn’t have a good grasp of what my actual job entails. Because of that, I get stuck doing whatever they don’t want to handle.
This includes everything from negotiations with contentious parents to dealing with that one teacher who should have retired twenty years ago. And don’t get me started on the district superintendent—a man with so many kinks he should have been named Slinkey.
All of this was doable until I added a few other job titles to my resume. First, I became the psychological consultant to the Scumble River Police Department. Granted, I only get called in when there’s a serious crime, but strangely, my small rural community, seems to have more than its share of murders. Hmm…
Second, I took on the role of spouse when I married the love of my life, Wally Boyd, the chief of police. Do you see a pattern here? 😉
And last, but certainly not least, a few months ago, I gave birth to twins. I had really never thought about becoming a mother, and the pregnancy, while not unwelcome was a bit of a surprise. But having two babies was a real shock. And now that my maternity leave has come to an end, I’m finding out just how hard it is to juggle all the different parts of my life.
The icing on my already over-frosted cake was that my first day back to work, the school went into lockdown because of an active shooter alarm. True to form, I was stuck sheltering in place with Dr. Wraige, our not-too-beloved superintendent.
That should have been my worst experience, but having Wraige turn up dead definitely topped it. There were so many suspects—from his much younger wife to his estranged son to almost all his employees—I’m surprised we were able to find his killer.
However, in Scumble River, Illinois, the criminals are always caught. Justice is served. And I get to go home to my handsome husband and adorable babies.
You can read all about my latest adventures in Body Over Troubled Waters coming out July 27th!
My review of Body Over Troubled Waters
The Welcome Back to Scumble River series is absolutely delightful! It’s got a lovely setting, realistic characters, quirky characters, and baffling murders! The latest book, Body Over Troubled Waters, is just as enjoyable as the first three!
Skye is back to working full-time as school psychologist. With the birth of her twins, Skye has been stretched thin! She really tried to take a maternity leave, but stuff happens. Now that she and Wally have the perfect live in nanny, Skye is ready to tackle her job(s) again. What she doesn’t expect is a school lockdown and another murder….nothing to do with the lockdown…but lots to do with the school since the dead body belongs to the superintendent! As part-time police psychological consultant, Skye’s involved in this mystery from all sides.
As with the prior books, Body Over Troubled Waters was a joy to read. With each book, I become more attached to these characters, and I love “watching” how they interact with each other. The Dooziers, you’ll love this quirky family, are, of course, in the book but only for a short scene. They crack me up, so I love when they’re involved in the mayhem somehow. I like that with each book, older characters play at least a small role, and newer characters keep growing in importance.
Solving the murder is quite challenging. Lots of red herrings will throw you off the scent of the real killer, but in the end, you’ll get that aha moment and figure it out.
I think that cozy mystery readers will enjoy Body Over Troubled Waters and the Welcome to Scumble River series by Denise Swanson.
About Denise Swanson
DENISE SWANSON is the New York Times bestselling author of the Scumble River mysteries, the Deveraux’s Dime Store mysteries, and the Chef-to-Go mysteries, as well as the Change of Heart contemporary romances. She has been nominated for RT Magazine’s Career Achievement Award, the Agatha Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award.
Follow the author
Twitter: @DeniseSwansonAu @Sourcebooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseSwansonAuthor
Website: http://deniseswanson.com/
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