Savanna Shepherd, who has made fine art her career and left Chicago for the lakeside town of Carson, now works as a school art teacher. She’s thirty-something and about to take another turn in life. But first, she’ll meet STILL LIFE AND DEATH.

The Shepherd Sisters cosy mystery series introduces a close-knit family. Savanna’s dating local doctor, Aidan Gallager, but the fact that as a lone parent, he has a child in her class, has made them hold back from any public announcements. They aren’t sure if this would break any rules, but don’t want to find out the wrong way.

Uncle Max Watson and Uncle Freddie, a nice couple, moved to Carson a few years ago, and Max works in Libby’s Blooms, where Savanna runs guest art classes occasionally. Tragedy strikes when the florist Libby Kent is found dead in the rooftop greenhouse. Her husband Anthony seems distraught. The other shopkeepers on Main Street share any information about movements with the police.

As for the other sisters, Skylar is a lawyer, married to Travis, with little girl Hannah and little boy Nolan. She’s pretty busy. Sydney is the owner of a pet shop, and she’s dating Finn Gallagher, Aidan’s brother, who pilots for paramedics, but seems much less committed to her.

With group meals, some lovely scenes sailing on Lake Michigan, and complications in the classroom, this would be a packed book even without the crime. The mystery, you ask? Well, poor Libby was shot, and the usual guessing game of who had motive, who was where, and who stands to gain anything comes into play. The police are keeping information to themselves, so it’s a real amateur sleuth story. For instance, at Priscilla’s Dance Academy, Marcus Valentine the dance instructor shows up with a black eye. Is this a clue? Could Libby have fought him off briefly? Speculation is rampant around town. 

I also love that Libby had been trying to propagate a rare plant called the Cry Violet, which possibly provides a motive. Author Tracy Gardner provides almost too much information for us to narrow down the tracks to the killer. STILL LIFE AND DEATH reminds us that even good people can suffer from crime, but we need a positive outlook. This was Tracy Gardner’s pandemic work, but you would not know that in the least. The joy of living and being outdoors resonates from the pages.