Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of McKevett's sweet fourth Granny Reid mystery set in the late 1980s (after 2021's Murder at Mabel's Motel), the six girls out of the eight "grandangels" Stella Reid is raising all rush into Stella's house in McGill, Ga., with the news that their brother Waycross, who's "fond of mischief and resourceful at creating it," has run away from school in the direction of the graveyard. When Waycross later confides that he was talking with his late grandfather in the cemetery, Stella knows that the boy is just feeling the need for an adult male presence. The next day, however, after a gravedigger discovers a man "plumb massacreed" on the steps of the crypt, Waycross becomes a crucial witness in the search for a killer. The victim, a local man with a history of petty crime and more recently substance abuse, had no shortage of enemies. McKevett does a good job capturing rural Georgia speech, but Stella's repetitious doting on her grandangels, as well as her attentions to her best friend, Elsie Dingle, and Sheriff Manny Gilford, slow the pace. Established fans will best appreciate this one. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Assoc. (June)
Kirkus Review
Stella Reid juggles eight kids and one murder in McGill, Georgia. Raising her no-account son's brood isn't easy for Granny Reid. Even when the older seven are in school, she has 6-month-old Macon Jr. to care for. Still, when only six of her rambunctious grandchildren pile into her tiny cottage after school one day, it isn't hard to figure out that the missing Reid is Waycross; aside from Macon, he's the only male. After calling her best friend, Miss Elsie Dingle, to babysit, Stella drives out to the McGill town cemetery, Waycross' favorite refuge in times of trouble. She finds Waycross at her late husband's gravesite, sharing his woes with his Grandpa Art. Trouble is, she also finds a dead body over by the Patterson crypt, a mausoleum filled with deceased members of one of McGill's most prominent families. When Sheriff Manny Gilford confirms that the body isn't another Patterson but Dexter Corbin, Stella knows there'll be an abundance of suspects because Dexter managed to rub most of McGill the wrong way. And since Manny is locked in an election fight to the death with his deputy, Stella thinks it only right to offer the handsome lawman her help solving this latest crime. Sleuthing, smooching, and Southern charm fight for center stage in the latest Moonlight Magnolia prequel. Winsome but lightweight. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In the small town of McGill, Georgia, Stella May "Granny" Reid is raising her eight grandchildren, who were neglected by their feckless parents. Stella and her grandson Waycross are present in a local cemetery when Dexter Corbin's body is discovered. While the townspeople won't mourn Corbin, a criminal, Sheriff Manny Gilford is determined to find his killer, and Stella, who likes a good mystery herself, is able to assist when good friend Elsie offers to watch the children. The two interview suspects, ultimately solving the crime but not before the feisty Stella is put in grave danger. Complicating matters, Manny is running for sheriff against one of his deputies, who is not above grandstanding to garner votes, and Manny and Stella, both widowed, are falling in love. Set in the 1980s, this cozy mystery, with a lovingly described small town setting, is strong on close family relationships and well-delineated characters, including 13-year-old Savannah, who assists in solving the crime and grows up to run the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency in McKevett's long-running Savannah Reid series.
