Book Review - Murder at the Courthouse by A. H. Gabhart

This is a cozy mystery and the first I have read by this author.  The story centers around a very small town and a murder that occurs, you guessed it, on the courthouse steps.  Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane takes the lead on the investigation and is the main character.

I was slightly confused about the various law enforcement agencies and who was in charge of whom in the book. It may be my fault for reading it a few pages at a time but having been involved in small town police (as Clerk of the Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court), I know they usually work separately.

In this book, a local gossip is the first to find the body.  The evidence is then immediately trampled by the head Judge - something which would never occur. Michael is involved, as well as Buck Garrett of the state police, Paul Osgood a town policeman nd the Sheriff. The Sheriff wants Michael to report to Paul Osgood and I'm not sure how Buck fits into the picture at all.  There's also their other deputy who spends his time as a school crossing guard. If the murder happened within the town limits I think it would be up to the town police or the state police to handle it. The Sheriff's Office wouldn't work the case separately. At least that's how it worked in my small town.

The author did a good job of weaving in Michael's backstory without taking the reader too far from the story at hand.

Hank Leland, the pesky reporter, seems to show up frequently but I never got a good feel of his character. There are several characters beyond these which we meet briefly and some of which I felt didn't add to the plot whatsoever.

All in all, the story was good and the real killer somewhat predictable. I enjoyed this as a light read and would pick another from this author.


Happy Trails,

Leslie

Visit my Website

Twitter     Instagram     Facebook     Menu for Murder     Cocktails at Sunset


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Does the Wine Glass Matter by L. A. Keller

A rock in a hard place

Jayne's Restaurant Review - Bonefish Grill