I’m a big fan of Charlaine Harris as she tends to write humorous mystery tales with a big dollop of hot romance. I’ve read all of the Sookie Stackhouse, Harper Connelly and Lily Bard books. As the last few Sookie books sucked, I wasn’t super keen to return to her body of work. However, once I learned Manfred Bernardo from the Harper books was the protagonist, my interest shot up by 100 percent.
Manfred moves to Midnight into a house owned by no other than the handsome but slightly dopey Bobo Winthrop (from the Shakespeare books). Bobo has put his past behind him and moved to this small Texas town to run a pawnshop. Manfred just wants some peace and quiet to build up his online psychic business. Fiji is their witch neighbor who runs new age shop out of her living room. She inherited her house from her aunt, along with a sassy cat named Mr. Snuggles. All the residents take a shine to Manfred, even inviting him to a town picnic which amounts to only less than 10 attendees. Everyone is friendly, but no one asks too many questions. This is the unwritten rule of the crossroad town. No wants any trouble, but unfortunately, the discovery of a dead body, Bobo’s ex girlfriend, by the river brings unwanted attention for everyone. Even though Manfred just arrived, he feels a sense of loyalty to help Bobo if he can. Together with Fiji, they band together to solve the mystery lest the peaceful atmosphere of the town disappears forever.
I loved all seeing the characters from other books coming together in a new setting. Manfred was certainly a delight here as protagonist describing the strange town. As I grew up in Texas, it was fun to see her take on small towns and their unwritten rules. The town certainly fits the surface description of many West Texas areas. There isn’t much romance, sticking pretty close to the paranormal mystery format. Fine by me as I had it up to hear with those fairies in last Sookie books. I’d definitely be up for the next entry in the series. Recommend this for fans of any Charlaine Harris universe and small town murder mysteries.
Read my other #CBR6 reviews on my blog.
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