One morning, after his run at the high school, true crime writer Jack returns to their trailer full of enthusiasm: a retiring custodian told Jack about the unsolved murder of a young woman thirty-one years ago. Jack’s curiosity is piqued and knowing his wife’s penchant for solving murders, Jack quickly decides this will be the subject of his new book. 

There’s just one problem. The young woman was never identified, and the case was apparently swept under the carpet: there are only two sheets of paper in the police file regarding the case and the microfilms of the local paper for that time period are missing. Anyone from Tullahoma who was there at the time, including Wanda Nell’s ex-mother-in-law, the deceased judge’s wife, isn’t talking. 

Jack and Wanda Nell team up with retired teacher Ernie Carpenter and slowly tease out the details from a town unwilling to talk. Their investigation takes them to a nearby town where they meet Miss Lyda who lives next door to the victim's (who Wanda Nell and Jack have learned to be Jenna Rae Howell), adopted father and who is so taken with the newlywed couple she eagerly invites them to stay the night. During the night, Jenna Rae’s adopted father is murdered.  Realizing they are closer to the truth than they know, and that the murderer must still be alive, Jack and Wanda Nell return to Tullahoma to confront a killer who has gotten away with murder for over thirty years.

 Leftover Dead is a delightful slice of Southern life. Wanda Nell is a very enjoyable character who has had some bad breaks in her life, but continues to count her blessings and look on the bright side of things. Her children are happy and healthy, and though Miranda and her new husband are having trouble over T.J.’s chosen lifestyle, Wanda Nell knows when to let her children handle their problems on their own and when to offer advice. Same goes for her relationship with her next door neighbor, Mayrene, who is having man troubles of her own. 

Jack fits easily into Wanda Nell’s life and doesn’t try to change the way she has been living it before they were married. Wanda Nell’s boss at the Kountry Kitchen where Wanda Nell is a waitress is also very accommodating and patient as Wanda Nell needs extra time off for her investigations. Miss Lyda is a delightful addition, and must be a comfortable in her abilities as a character judge to allow two strangers investigating a murder into her home over night. The investigation is methodical, but interesting as the past comes to life in the present, slowly revealing bits and pieces.  Sheriff Elmer Lee is happier to have Wanda Nell investigate this murder since Jack is there to keep her out of harm’s way, or so the two men think. Leftover Dead is a fun entry into this on-going series; there are, as always, tasty recipes for the dishes the characters enjoy included in the back.                                       

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry