Emily writes for a local newspaper and has high hopes of writing a mystery novel, though each plot she writes sounds familiar and she quickly realizes each plot is that of a bestseller or a blockbuster movie.  Finding the severed head of a missing local woman in her trashcan may be just the plot twist Emily is looking for. 

Ruby Poet had been missing for several months when her head appears in Emily’s trash. The state police plan to take over the investigation, but Deputy Dolly, widely hated by locals for her ticketing blitzes on the back roads, thinks local gossip will lead to the murderer and enlists Emily’s help, using her reporting as a cover, to catch a killer. 

At first, the locals are reluctant to speak ill of the dead, but Emily and Dolly learn that Ruby was part of a group of older, nature-worshipping women that many locals claimed were witches and publicly denounced these seemingly harmless rituals. Emily and Dolly’s suspicions are confirmed when one by one the women begin dying. Emily’s reclusive, eccentric neighbor makes a perfect suspect, as does the local bible-thumping minister, not to mention a town full of suspicious locals and the greedy adult children of the members of the group.  

There is a lot of plot and detail in Dead Dancing Women, the first in a series, so much so that readers may feel there is nothing left to learn about the town and its people in the future. At first, it doesn’t seem as if Emily’s three years in isolation have helped her heal from her previous relationship. But her growing friendship with Dolly and the arrival of her ex-husband and his new, very young girlfriend, help Emily visualize a new life for herself and give her the resolve to set her on the road to this life.

The mystery is well-plotted and though suspects abound, most of their motives are thin enough to be discarded. Emily grows more likeable as the mystery progresses and the town and its residents more endearing throughout the investigation, ensuring return readers.                                  

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry