Lonnie Cruse

Picking up my "A Mystery for Every State" project after a long hiatus, I've reached Illinois. Since I've read all of Sara Paretsky and many other novels set in and around Chicago, I was looking for a different part of Illinois and I certainly found it in Lonnie Cruse's Metropolis. Far south of Chicago and just across the Ohio River from Paducah, Kentucky, the ambience is a mix of Southern and Midwestern. I have a relative from Paducah and I imagined the characters with some of his intensely Southern drawl. One of my uncles has restored two '51 Chevys -- a Bel Air and a pickup truck -- so I was somewhat familiar with the old-car subculture, and a charming one it is.

Who killed Kitty's obnoxious Cousin Will Ann, and how did the murderer get her body into the trunk of Kitty's husband Jack's pride and joy, a perfectly restored '57 Chevy, while it was stored in a locked pole barn? Kitty's efforts to find out lead to multiple injuries and some revelations about family members she would rather not have known. But Kitty and Jack are an intelligent and loving team and the mystery is finally solved. Lots of local color and enjoyable characters with more depth than in the average "cozy" mystery fill out the story. I look forward to the next book in the series.… (más)

I hope this isn't the last in the Metropolis series because I really enjoy these characters. However, since it was written in 2007 and there aren't any others yet I'm afraid the series in on permanent hiatus.

In this episode Sheriff Joe Dalton is shot while waiting to meet an informer. The common practice of wearing a kevlar vest keeps him from dying but this is only the beginning as someone seems to be targeting his family, or is it all public servants in Metropolis?

I read this one in less than 24 hours - just had to keep going and going to find out the "who dunnit".

If you haven't read any of this series, give them a try. Set in Metropolis, which has a huge statue of Superman in the town square, it is small town mixed with the problems of being fairly close to bigger cities. Lot of fun, the family is close yet not sickly sweet, the relationship between Dalton and wife Ginny rings very true, they love each other but still argue and even sometimes fight.

Highly recommended.… (más)