Book Review: Angel at Troublesome Creek

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Angel at Troublesome Creek     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Mignon F. Ballard
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Cozy   Amateur Sleuth   Supernatural   Humorous
Series: Augusta Goodnight # 1
St. Martin's, Nov 1999, $22.95, 224 pp.

Mary George Murphy's run of bad luck is so extreme that she leans towards committing suicide, but fails to select a suitable method. While internally debating how to end her miserable existence, Mary George's guardian angel Augusta Midnight visits the earth for the first time since the forties.

Her former fiancé dumped Mary George just a few weeks before their wedding date. Not too long afterward, her beloved Aunt Caroline died from what was officially ruled an accident. Mary George thinks otherwise. Augusta has come to the mortal plane to help Mary George substantiate that someone murdered Caroline as well prove the embattled woman has plenty to live for. However, a killer decides that Mary George's snooping is too close to uncovering the truth about Caroline's death and the secret buried with the woman. That individual would not mind having Mary George join her aunt in the afterlife.

Fans of small town whimsical cozies will enjoy reading ANGEL AT TROUBLESOME CREEK, which moves "It's a Wonderful Life" into a modern day amateur sleuth tale. Augusta is an intriguing secondary character whose observations on change are entertaining and enlightening. The who-done-it is filled with plenty of suspects and red herrings, making it nearly impossible to solve the mystery. Though readers will question Mary George's early motives, she ultimately hooks her audience with her tenacity and bravery. Mignon F. Ballard writes a stimulating and pleasurable otherworldly mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner