MURDER OUTSIDE THE LINES, by Krista Davis, Kensignton Publishing Corp. 2021.
October is the perfect month for spooky, cozy murder mysteries and MURDER OUTSIDE THE LINES delivers just such a delectable story, set in Georgetown, Washington DC.. From the delivery to Maxwell (owner of the Color Me Read book store) of an unexpected package with a human skull and scrying mirror, to the sudden but rare shrieks in the store, and the dramatic announcement by their guest author and psychic Hilda Rattenhorst that she’s seen a foot sticking out of a rug left in a certain doorway, events pile up quickly on Florrie Fox, Color me Read’s manager and coloring book artist.
Soon Florrie discovers the body in the rug, through the help of her parents’ dog Frodo, but it is not in the doorway identified byt psychic. Instead, it sticks out of fresh garden dirt in a Halloween display at the house of a sweet old lady, Coralue Throckmorton. The dead person is an unpleasant but known employee at a nearby shop. Coralue tells Florrie all about the ghost legend of her house/ Florrie also learns about more ghost legends in Georgetown and about the colorful neighbors as she works her own lines of inquiry parallel to the police investigation that includes her boyfriend Sgt. Eric Jonquil. A variety of story threads are woven together in a complex but smooth pattern until the satisfying reveal.
My opinion
While I personally don’t like stories with ghosts and the occult as primary drivers, I do like the eerie feeling and atmosphere they provide when added to a tale that is otherwise strongly leaning into logic and reality, as this one does. The blend in this novel is like a perfect spiced hot cider, or pumpkin latte, or Russian tea (recipe for this last one included in the book).
Recommended for all who enjoy cozy mysteries.
P.S. You get to color the cover yourself.