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A Lonely Way to Die
When a stranger dies, secrets come to life …
When she was still in high school, Sonje McCrae left this small Minnesota town, changed her name, and never came back—until now.
Less than twenty-four hours after her return, Utah O'Brien finds the woman's body under six inches of new snow. The sheriff calls it death by misadventure—a fancy way of saying it’s not his problem.
Utah thinks the sheriff is wrong. For the sake of the two children Sonje left behind, she’s compelled to find out what really happened.
As she and her friends dig into the unlikely details of the woman's life and death, they uncover some of the town’s most closely guarded secrets—and the most shocking secret of all involves Utah's own family. Now that she knows, her life will never be the same—but does this discovery have anything to do with the death of Sonje McCrae?
You'll like this book if you enjoy character-driven mysteries that include dogs who take an active, realistic role in the plot. It's filled with likable small-town characters and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
This is the second book in the Utah O'Brien murder Minnesota Mysteries series.
When she was still in high school, Sonje McCrae left this small Minnesota town, changed her name, and never came back—until now.
Less than twenty-four hours after her return, Utah O'Brien finds the woman's body under six inches of new snow. The sheriff calls it death by misadventure—a fancy way of saying it’s not his problem.
Utah thinks the sheriff is wrong. For the sake of the two children Sonje left behind, she’s compelled to find out what really happened.
As she and her friends dig into the unlikely details of the woman's life and death, they uncover some of the town’s most closely guarded secrets—and the most shocking secret of all involves Utah's own family. Now that she knows, her life will never be the same—but does this discovery have anything to do with the death of Sonje McCrae?
You'll like this book if you enjoy character-driven mysteries that include dogs who take an active, realistic role in the plot. It's filled with likable small-town characters and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
This is the second book in the Utah O'Brien murder Minnesota Mysteries series.
- GenresCozy
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 17, 2016
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2022
Too bad there aren't any more in this series. I really enjoyed the characters and I would have liked to see
May 22, 2016
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, so I could give an honest review.
Utah is the mayor of a small town and Sam is her boy friend. Utah and her dog stumble on a body in the snow and the mystery begins. Who killed the famous author and how. You will enjoy reading and finding out. What will become of her two children.
Utah is the mayor of a small town and Sam is her boy friend. Utah and her dog stumble on a body in the snow and the mystery begins. Who killed the famous author and how. You will enjoy reading and finding out. What will become of her two children.
April 18, 2016
A Lonely Way to Die is the second book in the Utah O'Brien Mystery series. Utah returns with her thoughtful and gentle approach to life. When Jocko, her Border Collie, meets up with skunk #3 in as many weeks, she doesn't get angry-just sends him off in the snow to clean as much of the stink out of his fur as possible. What she didn't expect was for Jocko to come across the body of a woman buried in the snow, and sadly dead. With calm precision she puts the necessary protocol in action. From that point on we see her sympathetic and kind nature towards not only the victim, but the victim's nearly 13 year old son as well.
Thus begins the sad story of why a woman died alone in a field when everything in her life A Lonely Way to Die is the second book in the Utah O'Brien Mystery series. Utah returns with her thoughtful and gentle approach to life. When Jocko, her Border Collie, meets up with skunk #3 in as many weeks, she doesn't get angry-just sends him off in the snow to clean as much of the stink out of his fur as possible. What she didn't expect was for Jocko to come across the body of a woman buried in the snow, and sadly dead. With calm precision she puts the necessary protocol in action. From that point on we see her sympathetic and kind nature towards not only the victim, but the victim's nearly 13 year old son as well.
Thus begins the sad story of why a woman died alone in a field when everything in her life appeared to be looking up. Utah, Sam, Mort and the other characters from the first book again join forces to solve the mystery of the stranger's murder. While there are many suspects at first, after careful investigation it begins to look like this won't be solved very easily. And then there is the matter of who are the boy's real parents, and what will become of him and his infant sister?
This complex story is carefully unraveled and eventually solved with some unusual help. I was captivated while reading this, and at times thought I needed to get a warm sweater because the author's writing was so realistic.
I always recommend reading a series in order for better continuity. You can read this book as a stand alone and still enjoy the mystery, however, I think you will enjoy it more if you have read the first Utah O'Brien book: The Owl Thief. Ms Good's handling of the crime and aftermath is done in a gentle way. I, for one, appreciated not having undue horror forced upon me. I recommend this book highly!Utah O'Brien handles a sad crime with respect and gentleness.
Thus begins the sad story of why a woman died alone in a field when everything in her life A Lonely Way to Die is the second book in the Utah O'Brien Mystery series. Utah returns with her thoughtful and gentle approach to life. When Jocko, her Border Collie, meets up with skunk #3 in as many weeks, she doesn't get angry-just sends him off in the snow to clean as much of the stink out of his fur as possible. What she didn't expect was for Jocko to come across the body of a woman buried in the snow, and sadly dead. With calm precision she puts the necessary protocol in action. From that point on we see her sympathetic and kind nature towards not only the victim, but the victim's nearly 13 year old son as well.
Thus begins the sad story of why a woman died alone in a field when everything in her life appeared to be looking up. Utah, Sam, Mort and the other characters from the first book again join forces to solve the mystery of the stranger's murder. While there are many suspects at first, after careful investigation it begins to look like this won't be solved very easily. And then there is the matter of who are the boy's real parents, and what will become of him and his infant sister?
This complex story is carefully unraveled and eventually solved with some unusual help. I was captivated while reading this, and at times thought I needed to get a warm sweater because the author's writing was so realistic.
I always recommend reading a series in order for better continuity. You can read this book as a stand alone and still enjoy the mystery, however, I think you will enjoy it more if you have read the first Utah O'Brien book: The Owl Thief. Ms Good's handling of the crime and aftermath is done in a gentle way. I, for one, appreciated not having undue horror forced upon me. I recommend this book highly!Utah O'Brien handles a sad crime with respect and gentleness.
May 2, 2016
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As the story opens, Utah is walking with her dog, Jocko, when Jocko catches a skunk. While trying to get the smell off by digging through a snow drift, Jocko discovers a woman's body. With the extreme cold from the snow, there is no way to tell for certain how long she has been dead.
It turns out the young woman is an author, Sonje McCrae and she has two children - a 13-yr old son, Gabe, and a young baby, Grace. After some investigation, Utah learns that Sonje is actually Mildred Prices' daughter, Gwyneth, who has been gone for many years. Utah also learns that Gabe's dad is out of the country (in Europe) with his Band, Blue Malachi. When Gabe informs Utah that he is adopted, the next questions become - with his mother dead and the father on the road so much, what will happen to the children? Plus, who are Gabe's real parents?
With no evidence of foul play, Wally (the Sheriff) is fairly certain the woman committed suicide. Utah and Mort are not so sure and want to investigate,just to make certain. Only a few people knew that Sonje / Gwyneth was coming to town and there appears to be no reason for her death, unless it was something from her past. Unfortunately, the "Rumor Mill" is extremely quiet on the subject.
With virtually no evidence and few suspects, will Utah, Mort and Sam be able to figure out how the woman died and why?
This story is extremely well written, with a lot of emotion and genuine characters you can easily relate to.
As the story opens, Utah is walking with her dog, Jocko, when Jocko catches a skunk. While trying to get the smell off by digging through a snow drift, Jocko discovers a woman's body. With the extreme cold from the snow, there is no way to tell for certain how long she has been dead.
It turns out the young woman is an author, Sonje McCrae and she has two children - a 13-yr old son, Gabe, and a young baby, Grace. After some investigation, Utah learns that Sonje is actually Mildred Prices' daughter, Gwyneth, who has been gone for many years. Utah also learns that Gabe's dad is out of the country (in Europe) with his Band, Blue Malachi. When Gabe informs Utah that he is adopted, the next questions become - with his mother dead and the father on the road so much, what will happen to the children? Plus, who are Gabe's real parents?
With no evidence of foul play, Wally (the Sheriff) is fairly certain the woman committed suicide. Utah and Mort are not so sure and want to investigate,just to make certain. Only a few people knew that Sonje / Gwyneth was coming to town and there appears to be no reason for her death, unless it was something from her past. Unfortunately, the "Rumor Mill" is extremely quiet on the subject.
With virtually no evidence and few suspects, will Utah, Mort and Sam be able to figure out how the woman died and why?
This story is extremely well written, with a lot of emotion and genuine characters you can easily relate to.
May 9, 2016
This is a book in the Utah O'Brien Mystery series but books can be read as stand alone novels. In this book Utah along with her Border Collie Jocko finds the body of a woman underneath the snow. No one knows the identity of the woman and sheriff tries to right it off as an accidental death. Utah thinks there was foul play and especially when they find out who the woman is and that there are kids involved she wants to investigate. The woman has connections to the town. What is she doing back in the area and what will happen to the children. This book has an interesting story to it and great characters I was happy to revisit.
* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2016
This is second in the Utah O´Brien series, and things have progressed in her life since the last book. She is now living with the man her mother was trying to fix her up with at the last of the first book, and she has closed her museum since becoming mayor. She is out walking her dog when he finds a dead woman under a snow bank. It turns out she is a bestselling author who once lived in the village, but moved away and changed her name. Since the sheriff isn´t sure that it was not suicide, Utah and her crew once again begin investigating. I noticed a few more typos in this one than the prior title, but I still enjoyed the people and the story.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews