Valerie Wilson Wesley

Dessa Jones isn't your standard amateur sleuth. For one thing, she's a caterer with a das y job as a realtor, and for another, she gets some psychic input from the universe. Although, the signs aren't always clear, and her aunts haven't given her too many details about how to interpret the glimmers she sees. Dessa is fiercely loyal to her friends even though the realty office seems to attract trouble. This series keeps getting better with each book!

Thanks to Kensington Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.… (altro)

A Fatal Glow by Valerie Wilson Wesley is a fantastic second book in the Odessa Jones Mysteries. I enjoyed the first one, A Glimmer of Death, but with Odessa starting to come more into her mystical powers more, I enjoyed A Fatal Glow even more!

Wesley continues to give us well developed characters and we are introduced to a few more in book two. Love Aunt Phoenix and really feel a kinship with her! Even when Wesley writes a mean character she keeps me interested and it doesn’t feel fake, which I’ve found to be the case with some other cozy mystery writers. Wesley also isn’t afraid to write about some hard topics that other cozy mystery writers steer clear of, which is very refreshing.

As far as the mystery went, we do get a bunch of suspects, but I was able to figure out the killer pretty easy, but it didn’t take away from the story because of how engrossed I became in the characters. I also enjoyed that while Dessa investigates she never does so in a way that really puts her in danger.

Looking forward to book three in the Odessa Jones Mysteries.… (altro)

amateur-sleuth, New Jersey, family, family-dynamics, friendship, real-estate, baker, other-gifted, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, situational-humor, witty, small-business, small-town, falsely-accused*****

Odessa Jones is a recent widow who is gathering a family of her own to care for. She does have and aunt or two with similar psychic gifts which can be alarming and dreadful. She comes into contact with some truly awful members of a local family through her work as a baker/real estate agent and that leads to finding a murder or two as well as other people she knew in high school. The plot is complex and addictive, the characters are so well done I expected to meet them locally. And talk about plot twists and red herrings! I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!… (altro)

The first book in the Odessa Jones series. The first in a new series!

Odessa Jones, a realtor in New Jersey has the ability to sense smells, and hear things other folks can’t. Aunt Phoenix calls “glimmers”, hazy auras, sometimes with color, appear when certain people enter her space. She can “read” rooms and know intimate things about the occupants. She senses bad things. This “gift” couldn’t be trusted, useless, comes, lingers, then disappears sometimes. You have to listen to it.

It was an added pleasure that Odessa was an experienced cook and owned a catering business. I love novels with cooking in the theme. I felt the glimmers didn’t really amount to much for Odessa, but maybe it something she has to hone and understand in future incidents. I enjoyed the innocents of Odessa, and look forward to reading the next novel in the series.… (altro)