The festivities include an Old Southern Dinner and speeches given by the ten living former mayors of the town. Julian Stubbs, the oldest of the bunch, takes a tumble down the grand staircase of the family home and is pronounced dead. Trudy’s police instincts kick in and she finds herself wondering if old Julian was clumsy or if there was someone who was out to get him after all these years.

In addition, some family heirlooms begin to disappear and old Julian’s notorious past starts to come to light after a younger member of the family announces an elopement that might have disastrous consequences if the truth doesn’t come out. Trudy is delighted to be reunited with old pal Shawna, though when Shawna starts making eyes at Trudy’s man Phil, Trudy reconsiders the warm down home welcome she gave Shawna.

One of the better entries in the Trudy Roundtree series (though it goes on for one chapter too long), Ogeechee is portrayed as a delightful Southern town to visit. Trudy has taken her role at the family homestead seriously, even if she is a bit slow to renovate as her Aunt Lulu is quick to point out.  Trudy is developing into a fine police officer, though it took her a bit long to catch on to what happened to the family heirlooms, and overplays the apprehension and questioning of the suspects a bit much. Her reaction to Shawna’s interest in Phil is a little odd and readers may wonder where the insecurity came from.  Julian’s past, once revealed, offers many suspects, most with the same motive for the old man’s murder, though given recent events, there is only one person whose motive makes sense.                                                  

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry