Oliver’s Opinion: Killing Spring (Book Review)

One of my mom’s favorite authors is Anita Klumpers and she has written another steller suspense/mystery novel with Killing Spring. This takes two characters from her amazing debut novel, Winter Watch.  You can find a review for that novel here, written before mom asked the dogs to take over reviews. While Killing Spring is somewhat of a sequel to that book it stands alone quite well. However, I doubt anyone would regret reading if they haven’t already.

The entire story is told from the standpoint of Claudia Alexander and takes place in Portia, Illinois. Claudia is on a holiday with her fiance and while he’s working she’s exploring, and she’s supposed to be planning their wedding but gets distractedd and instead finds herself in a spot of mischief. She meets a Korean War vet, Harvey Kaluza, and soon after that he disappears. In spite of the police supposedly searching for him, she launches her on inquiries, making new friends along the way and uncovering deep and quite disturbing secrets from their past. She must struggle with her own inner wounds while helping others face theirs. Not much wedding planning gets done on this trip, and Claudia is fortunate if she can survive to plan a wedding, much less get married as danger strikes with frequency. Brave and intrepid, Claudia is not one to let a matter go, and will uncover the truth–no matter what the cost.

This cozy mystery is filled with enough suspense you’re guaranteed to loose some sleep when you can’t put the book down. Since my mom loved it I need to give it five bones, because I’m a dog and that’s how I roll.