"a picture is worth a thousand words & at times the missing piece"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted May 14, 2007
Suspense | Romance Suspense
DEAD GIVEAWAY takes over where DEAD SILENCE left off with
Grace Montgomery finally moving on with her life married to
Kennedy Archer. But life in Stillwater Mississippi isn't
settled at all. Things are looking rather bleak for the
Montgomery family with the arrival of Allie McCormick, the
daughter of the chief of police and a well respected
cold-case detective from Chicago. And anyone in Stillwater
can attest the case of the missing Reverend Barker is a very
cold case and one that Allie is biting at the bit to solve. The Reverend's daughter, Madelyn, has been in touch with
Allie over the years and is hopeful that she will use her
considerable talents to bring this case to a successful
close. Translation is that Madelyn is holding out hopes that
her father is alive but just missing. However the Montgomery
family knows otherwise. Reverend Barker is for the meantime
buried where no one has been able to find him. But with the
persistence of Allie in getting to the bottom of this case
the family is getting worried over their collective fate.
The prime suspect in the case continues to be Clay
Montgomery whose mother had married Barker to hopefully
improve their standard of living. What they got was a sexual
deviate fixated on the oldest daughter, Grace. Clay has been
the self appointed guardian of the farm where Barker is
buried. But now with the case reopened several members of
the community are seeking answers and some are out for
revenge. They are certain that their beloved religious
leader has met with tragedy at the hands of the family that
he so lovingly adopted as his own and his parishioners have
since shunned the Montgomery's. But Allie begins to question
Clay's guilt in this case. No doubt he is keeping secrets
but as she gets to know and trust him she begins to think
that his history of protector is as far as his guilt goes.
Both Clay and Allie have much to lose in the investigation
but hopefully they have much to gain. This is a great continuation of the Montgomery family story.
Novak does a wonderful job bringing in a well designed
supporting case of townspeople who seem to have as much to
lose as the Montgomery's. Clay's role of protector has
literally put his life on hold. As much as we want justice
to prevail we can't help but hope this cold case remains
cold. Clay's remorse for failing to stop their stepfather's
actions is echoed amongst many townspeople who previously
shut him out. True to life this story shows that patterns of
behavior don't just mysterious start or stop and we need to
open our minds to sometimes see what's right in front of us.
Can't wait for the final story.
SUMMARY
The Reverend Lee Barker went missing nineteen years ago.... And the people of Stillwater, Mississippi believe they know
why. They're convinced he was murdered--by his stepson, Clay
Montgomery. But only Clay--and his mother and sisters--can
say for sure. They were the only ones there that fateful
night, the only ones who know what really happened. And
they're not talking. Allie McCormick is a cold case detective from Chicago. After
a particularly difficult divorce, she's returned to
Stillwater with her six-year-old daughter to find the peace
she once knew in her hometown, and to work for the local
police force while she's starting over. But when Clay's
powerful enemies join forces to put him behind bars, Allie
feels duty-bound to uncover the truth. Her instincts tell
her he didn't murder the Reverend Lee Barker. Maybe Clay's a dark and brooding man with more than his
share of secrets, but he was just sixteen at the time. And
he's not a cold-blooded killer. At least that's what Allie
believes--until she finds proof that behind the preacher's
pious demeanor lurked the heart of a monster. Then she has to ask herself whether justice has already been
done....
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