Killer Reunion

This 21st installment in the "Savannah Reid" mystery series by G.A. McKevett (a pseudonym of author Sonja Massie) finds Savannah and relatively new husband Det. Lt. Dirk Coulter on a visit to Savannah's home town of McGill, Georgia, for a 25th high school reunion. Savannah grew up dirt poor, the oldest of 9 siblings, taken from her abusive parents at a young age and raised by loving grandparents. There were a lot of cruel kids at school who made fun of her poverty, but Jeannette Parker was the mean queen of them all. Savannah is hoping for a triumphant return on the arm of her handsome and loving husband, as well as getting to celebrate Granny Reid's 80th birthday. Her ex-beau, one of Jeannette's many conquests, is now the county sheriff, as hunky and good-looking as ever and maybe still in love with Savannah. When Savannah gets into a cat fight with Jeannette at the reunion and then Jeannette turns up dead, guess who becomes the prime suspect and gets thrown in jail--into the same cell as her drunk and disorderly mother.?! But family and friends mortgage it all to get Savannah out on bail so she can figure out who the real killer is. She is well equipped to do this as she runs the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency back in Santa Carmelita, California, and her trusty sidekick Tammy, and Savannah's youngest brother fly in to help her. Well portrayed characters, complete with southern drawls, evocative sense of place, and realistic dynamics of a small town are all in favor of this book. Light fare reading and there is lots of it if you want to start at the beginning. Savannah, BTW is a big woman, making her a somewhat unusual protagonist, which is also refreshing. Brief review from Kirkus.