School Psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd is still out on maternity leave after having her two twins. She still visits the schools several times a week despite her leave time to help out her intern, Piper Townsend, who is receiving no support from the district co-op and is ruthlessly bullied by Principal Homer Knapik. However, this time Homer may have gone too far when a parent meeting turns into a lawsuit. Meanwhile, Skye is also helping her husband and Police Chief on a case as her role of psychological consultant to the police department on a missing person case. Now Skye and Wally have a missing person, a dead woman, and a whole lot of suspects including Earl Doozier himself. Can they figure out what is going on while juggling the parenting duties of two twins and living in an RV until their home is built?

COME HOMICIDE OR HIGH WATER is the third book in the Welcome Back to Scumble River series and is exactly the kind of read I needed right now. Skye and Wally are a heck of a lot of fun and it’s easy to jump into the series even if you aren’t familiar with the characters. Admittedly, it’s a lot more fun when you’ve seen all the antics of Scumble River and its various citizens (especially the Dooziers!) and I can’t imagine anyone reading just one book about Scumble River and not wanting to binge read them all!

COME HOMICIDE OR HIGH WATER delves into some of the politics of Scumble River, including the school system, the town itself and one of the neighboring villages, Bord du Lac. I love that we are starting to see some of the surrounding communities, even if Gerald Baker is exactly the kind of retired neighbor you don’t want to have! But that also applies to Homer, who may win the award for the slimiest and ugliest principal ever. His rudeness gets him in a heap of trouble in COME HOMICIDE OR HIGH WATER!

Denise Swanson is one of my favorite cozy mystery writers as I love that a school psychologist is the heroine! Skye’s experiences as a school psychologist in a rural community are believable and I love that the Dooziers are in the midst of things! If you’ve never read a Scumble River book and met the Dooziers, you are definitely missing out on a hilarious family with crazy antics. COME HOMICIDE OR HIGH WATER is easily recommended and I can’t wait to dive into the next installment!