Read With Me

This is the story of a single mom, Violet, who has had to regroup and start a new life. She moved in with her artistic aunt and became a real estate agent in Deadwood. She also has to sell a house within a week or find a new job. She is handed a few quirky characters who become her clients. One of my favorites is the humorous and quirky Harvey; a grizzled old man with a penchant for shotguns and profanity. Her clients include Doc, a hot guarded business neighbor who flirts with Violet but seems to have a few secrets and odd behaviors that makes him off-limits for anything other business; Wolfgang, the perfect man, incredibly handsome, a jeweler by profession, courteous, and generous who needs to sell his family home; Harvey, old and without boundaries, Violet met him at the end of Bessie - his shotgun; and Jeff, the scary, disgusting father of her daughter's new friend. Violet has become concerned with all of the children disappearing from Deadwood and a couple of other close towns. She noticed the eerie similarities to her daughter Addy. She had come back to Deadwood because it was a safe haven for her as a child. She had spent numerous summers with her aunt and her best friend, Natalie, who was a bit on the wild and loose side. The story focuses on developing the characters of Violet and her frazzled life first and the mystery second. It is almost an afterthought in reading the book. The author, Ann Charles, made the mystery part of the book easy to read. I figured out 'who done it' early on but wanted to continue reading about Violet's life. It was fun and humorous. I plan to read the next in the series.