Way Down Dead in Dixie

by Caroline Cousins

Indigo Island and Pinckney Plantation are sweltering under the South Carolina sun as tourists invade in advance of the Fourth of July holiday. But when three cousins who fancy themselves amateur sleuths come upon a long-ago runaway's skeletal remains, the cold case casts a chill on summer fun. Still, it doesn't keep the cousins from planning for a parade and a picnic even as they dig into the island's haunted history while hunting for treasures at an estate sale. Then there's a fire, a suspicious death, and fireworks aplenty as the tables turn. Someone is after the cousins. Is it because they may have discovered a LISTPRICEless piece of antique jewelry? Or because of what's hidden in the pages of an old diary—a secret to die for? Southern manners again meet mystery as our heroines try to solve the case. Readers everywhere will welcome the return of the detective trio Publishers Weekly calls "a triple treat.

Genres: Southern, Mystery, Fiction

177 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Maybe it's the Southern Belle in me! It was really a very enjoyable read. I was a bit overwhelmed by all of the characters introduced, especially in the beginning, but once I got past all the names, it was easier to handle "who's who".

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short read but delightful, especially during the covid-19 isolation! The ladies and their reaction to events around them due to the Southern culture they lived in was especially funny to me.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started slow but 1/3 way into the book, it got pretty darned great. Strong sense of place, great characters. Nicely woven mystery.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of the book, I was a bit bored. However, the last 3/4 made up for it.

I might have felt differently had I read the first two books in the series.

[Terri Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book…in a “Fried Green Tomatoes”, down home style of writing.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful cozy mystery written by three cousins under the pseudonym of Caroline Cousins that takes place on an island in the South Carolina Low Country. While cleaning around the graves in the cemetery, they stumble upon a corpse that is believed to be that of a young girl. However, this girl was thought to have drowned as a result of Hurricane Camille. Thus the mystery begins, and the three cousins have to solve it. The book is a quick and entertaining read. I thoroughly enjoyed it because of the flash backs to the high school setting of the 1960's which is the same as my high school years. Though my experiences were farther south (Jacksonville, Florida) than the South Carolina Low Countries--the memories were quite similar. For Example, this excerpt:

"Miss Augusta picked up a small wooden box from the table. . . .'But I think this cedar jewelry box mush have been her granddaughter's poor child. It's a miniature of a Lane Cedar chest. Fine furniture stores used to give them away to girls when they graduated from high school. My Julia had one.'"

I was a teacher and educator at the secondary level for 35 years in small rural communities in northeast Florida and I remember these small cedar chests. The local home-owned furniture store would give them to all the female graduates and so many times they would bring them back to class and show them to me. I always looked forward to the time of commencement and the year that my own daughter received her "cedar chest." This book brought back very happy memories for me.

Looking forward to reading the other two books by this triple threat!

[Sandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in this Southern trilogy, with all the charm and manners the South is known for. Throw in a mystery, three cousins doing the sleuthing, and lots of humor as well as sass, and you have a good read. I loved it and can't wait to read more from Caroline Cousins.

From Amazon:
Indigo Island and Pinckney Plantation are sweltering under the South Carolina sun as tourists invade in advance of the Fourth of July holiday. But when three cousins who fancy themselves amateur sleuths come upon a long-ago runaway's skeletal remains, the cold case casts a chill on summer fun. Still, it doesn't keep the cousins from planning for a parade and a picnic even as they dig into the island's haunted history while hunting for treasures at an estate sale. Then there's a fire, a suspicious death, and fireworks aplenty as the tables turn. Someone is after the cousins. Is it because they may have discovered a priceless piece of antique jewelry? Or because of what's hidden in the pages of an old diary—a secret to die for? Southern manners again meet mystery as our heroines try to solve the case. Readers everywhere will welcome the return of the detective trio Publishers Weekly calls "a triple treat."

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two sisters and their cousin, the narrator, are dutifully cleaning family graves on Indigo Island, SC, when they stumble across some bones that are not in the graveyard, and that seem to be those of a teenager who was thought to be lost in Hurricane Camille. Another lucky chance leads to the discovery of her diary, although it's hard to tell who her friends and enemies are, as she uses initials.

[Deliasue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, Murder and More Murder Lots of prospects but who did it? sisters really snoopy gets in the way of the cops and gets in trouble, it seems to find them and the cops show up and who is there yep the
sisters.... These three books were a little hard to get into at first but halfway through the books they got lots better and held your attention.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very quick to read, but a very good mystery. It took me a little while to get everyone sorted out, but once I did it moved right along. There were some very interesting surprises near the end.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just started this book. I hope it is a good as the first two.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick read. I enjoy these books set on Edisto Island - makes me wish I were there.

[Ann]

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