Trace Their Shadows

Brandy O'Bannon Mystery #1

by Ann Turner Cook

Rumors of a ghost in an isolated Florida mansion lead reporter Brandy O'Bannon to a forty-five year old skeleton, a murder, and unexpected romance. She copes with eccentric suspects, tries to save the century-old house from developers, and discovers the secret of the house that explains both ghost and murder.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

260 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2001

About the author

Ann Turner Cook is an American mystery novelist, who was the model for the familiar Gerber Baby artwork seen on baby-food packages of the Gerber Products Company.
After retiring from teaching, Cook became a novelist. A member of the Mystery Writers of America, she is the author of the Brandy O'Bannon series of mystery novels set on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by my high school English teacher, who also happens to be the Gerber Baby. She was a great teacher.

[Pleinelune Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those of you who grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Trace Their Shadows by Ann Turner Cook will feel comfortable and familiar. Although the story was a little slow to get into gear, once it did things rolled on smoothly.

Brandy O'Bannon was a character that perhaps lacked a bit of definition and depth. She didn't bother me so much, but I just couldn't come to like her or relate to her. Every time she was about to do something she felt was betraying or manipulating someone to get more information for her story, she kept reasoning to herself that her editor told her she needed to grow a backbone or whatever. I wasn't sure if this was just her trying to give herself the OK to be sneaky, or if she really didn't want to be doing these things. I'm pretty sure it was the latter, but every time it was this internal conflict which was kind of annoying.

The two things that I most appreciated from this book were the setting and the mystery. The setting is Central Florida, somewhere I've never been, but reading this book made me feel like I was there. Cook happens to live in Florida, so it's no surprise that she knows her stuff.

The mystery of who killed Eva was so good! I honestly was surprised, and not entirely convinced when all was revealed, until Brandy explains everything and how she came to realize who the killer was. There were plenty of clues, but they were weaved into the story so perfectly that I didn't even notice they were there. This is the kind of mystery I really enjoy reading, because if you're really attentive and clever, all the clues are there for you to figure it out on your own.

Overall, this was a light and easy read that entertained me for an evening. I recommend checking out books by Ann Turner Cook if you get the chance.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first installment in this Nancy Drew-like series. It’s been 75 years since I last read Nancy, but I feel her reincarnated in Brandy O’Bannon! She seems more like a teenager than a woman in her mid twenties - pretty immature!! But I like following her adventures that are sprinkled with suspense. One more to go, but the library doesn’t have Homosassa Shadows and it’s $14.90 at ThriftBooks- so it will be awhile till I read it.

Remember the author is an English teacher so I was surprised at two errors. The tree is a crApe Myrtle not crepe as in crepe paper. She describes every bit of flora in Florida in minute detail,so I’d think she know the correct spelling. The next is a pet peeve of mine and it’s spelling is arbitrary- mantel, a fireplace shelf, mantle, a cloak - she uses mantle describing the fireplace, 99% of authors use the preferred spelling of mantel, mantle semis a little archaic even though it isn’t wrong!

So after all is said and done I enjoyed this quick mystery and never guess the endings.