Diana has quit the investigating business and relocated to Port Findlay, Washington. Her husband had been a professional photographer and she learned from him and supported herself through college plying the trade. In the past year, Diana has established her reputation as a photographer and become an integral part of the arts community.

She serves on a committee hosting a photography show featuring amateurs and professionals alike. Diana and the town chiropractor, Connor Callahan, are escorting the judges through the exhibits in the judging process when they discover the body of Rosemary Barrett, the art council president and ostensibly the Empress of Port Findlay because of her involvement in everything at every level.

Rosemary’s daughter is afraid the police chief will blame her father for the crime and gradually enlists Connor and Diana to investigate separately from the police. She hands them Rosemary’s laptop commuter certain that clues will be found there.

Shortly thereafter, Diana’s photo shop is broken into, her San Francisco photos taken and an attempt is made on her life. Because of her similarity in build to Rosemary, and because it was well known that she was supposed to have opened the arts center that day, Diana fears that she was the intended victim all along.

Snap Shot is primarily a story of a small town, its people and the dynamics of functioning committees. It is also a story of a widowed Connor and once burned Diana as they first get to know each other and then pursue their attraction to each other.

The mystery is really secondary to the lives and eccentricities of the residents. These secondary characters are extremely well drawn and infused with humor and warmth. Diana in her jaunty way and Connor in his dorky way work their way through the mystery.

Pacing is very good and the dialog is funny in places and moves the story well with frequent, seamless scene changes. Readers may remember the English cottage mysteries of Marjorie Allingham for example, where there is no steamy sex, no profanity, no gore. This novel is very reminiscent of that author and that genre.

--Thea Davis