Mayor Denny Spurlock was found murdered with a stolen, throw away gun near his body. Now Denny’s son Donnie has found the skeleton of Denny’s long missing brother on the bottom of the resevoir. Donnie and his girlfriend Karyn were diving at night looking for a box of fabled diamonds that tore the town apart more than 50 years ago. Donnie is convinced all this is connected to his father’s death and is determined to learn what happened so he can put it behind him and move on with his life.

A former school teacher, Esbeth brings a certain amount of methodical research to the investigation and Tillis, many years of police investigating. Working with the local police chief, Eldon, and new deputy, the very attractive, hard to resist, Gala, Tillis goes up against some very powerful local legends to uncover the truth about some diamonds that may have been missing for half a century, or that may have never existed.

Some scenes in Black Like Blood are very vivid and descriptive. The night diving scene in the beginning draws the reader in and puts them under the water with Donnie and Karyn. While the book is subtitled “an Esbeth Waters mystery,” Tillis, Donnie and Karyn play as much of a part in the investigation as Esbeth. The interplay between the characters, adults who are newcomers and young adults whose families have roots that go very deep, is very interesting, as are the reactions of the older residents whose carefully guarded secrets are about to come to light. A weekly card game with a shady dealer adds another layer of suspects, but even so, the murder is pretty straight forward, and it is the characters propel the story to its conclusion.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry