Jane Kelly, a process server and sometime "information
specialist" (private investigator), is a bit uncomfortable
with her latest assignment. She's supposed to find out
information about Bobby Reynolds, missing for four years
after murdering his wife and children. Jane soon finds
herself drawn into a dysfunctional family situation
involving an ex-wife, a stepson, a best friend, a trophy
wife and an aging patriarch, some of whom are willing to
protect the killer. The fact that the best friend, Tim
Murphy, is the man Jane followed to Oregon (only to have
him leave her shortly after the murders) adds an
interesting twist to the investigation.
While working on the case, Jane is also forced to deal with
an interfering mother, a brother with a secret fiancée and
her sometime-boss, Dwayne Durbin, who'd like Jane to join
his investigation firm. When she inherits a dog with the
unlikely name of Binky (later rechristened Binks or The
Binkster), she's ready to go nuts!
Jane's investigation has her questioning her feelings for
the newly attentive Murphy, wondering if anyone in the
Reynolds family is telling her the truth about anything and
seeking answers to the questions surrounding Bobby's
disappearance. When Bobby's body is found floating in the
lake, the victim of a homicide, his death has long-reaching
repercussions for his friends and family.
CANDY APPLE RED is a fun, intelligent read; the first in a
new series by Nancy Bush. Jane Kelly is an original:
funny, outspoken and unsure of what she wants to do with
her life and unapologetic about it. Bush's descriptions of
locations and characters are dead-on, inviting her readers
even deeper into the story, and her sense of humor is
apparent throughout. The mystery is well-developed and
entertaining, the conclusion a surprise. Readers will look
forward to reading more in this series.
Meet Jane Kelly
Process server Jane Kelly is flirting with the idea of
becoming a private investigator. She's not convinced she's
really right for the job, but her good friend and mentor,
Dwayne Durbin has assured her she has great qualifications -
- basic nosiness, cheapness and a generally bad attitude.
Jane thinks Dwayne's just desperate to have someone work
for him at Durbin Investigations, the unofficial name of
his one-man detective agency. And she suspects her duties
might be coffee making, cleaning and office receptionist.
However, when a serious mystery drops itself in her lap,
Jane begins an investigation of her own -- looking into the
disappearance of the notorious Bobby Reynolds.
Four years earlier Bobby, an acquaintance of Jane's,
murdered his young family, then disappeared. No one
disputed that he'd slaughtered his own flesh and blood
except Bobby's best friend, Tim Murphy, who just happens to
be Jane's ex. The murders drove a wedge between Jane and
Murphy, and Murphy eventually left town. But now he's on
his way back to attend a Lake Chinook Historical Society
benefit which Bobby's father, Cotton Reynolds, is hosting.
Before Jane can say, "Not in this lifetime," she finds
herself heading to the benefit to meet both Cotton Reynolds
and Tim Murphy. And if that isn't enough to raise her
stress level, a friend of her mother's suddenly leaves Jane
a homely pug named Binky who settles into Jane's home as if
it were her own. Then Mom herself threatens to follow Jane
from southern California to make her home in Oregon. Jane's
life heads sideways fast -- and that's before she finds the
dead body in the lake...
