It is always nice when you get good news in the mail–even if it’s just e-mail. The other day, tucked amongst the come-ons to buy this or that, I found the following email in my in-box: “I’m very pleased to announce that the August 2023 issue of our online book review magazine “California Bookwatch” features a review of “Flood of Memories”.”
If you enjoy cozy mysteries, consider purchasing the second book in the Beth and Evie Mystery series. I am currently trying to ignore a historic heatwave, with highs in the upper 90s yesterday and again today, while writing the third book in the series. Set in the Minnesota summer of 1969, when there weren’t many air-conditioners, Beth and Evie cool off with coolers full of pop and a trip to the lake. They will soon have more to worry about than the heat, when a baffling murder takes place. Luckily for me, my window air-conditioner is blasting away near my elbow as I write this, doing its best to battle the heat.
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Flood of Memories
Bonnie Oldre
Gatekeeper Press
9781662936074, $15.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
https://www.midwestbookreview.com/calbw/aug_23.htm#mysterysuspense
The second book in the Beth and Evie mystery series, Flood of Memories, presents another mystery that draws Beth Williams and her best friend Evie Hanson into a murder involving a dead elderly woman, a missing will, and a painting that holds secrets.
Beth’s astute observational skills mark her as an investigator with the unusual ability to connect the dots even as reality shifts. Evie’s research reveals clues that lead Beth and her friend on an unexpected journey through history, special interests, and a secret worth killing for.
Readers who enjoy art-based intrigue will especially appreciate this story’s progression through the art world as Beth and Evie find themselves off balance and immersed in artistic realms well outside of their areas of expertise.
Bonnie Oldre steeps her mystery in the culture and aura of 1960s Minnesota, juxtaposing the changing milieu of Davidson City with clues that bring together historical and modern conundrums. Readers thus receive a story nicely steeped in a sense of place, times, and purpose.
All these elements add to the growing tension and intrigue that lead Beth, Evie, and their readers into a mystery replete with dangerous confrontations and eye-opening developments.
Libraries and readers seeking a cozy mystery atmosphere replete with intrigue, powered by amateur female sleuths who employ every deductive reasoning device available to arrive at the truth, will find Flood of Memories a fine expansion of the characters in the prior Silent Winter Solstice, who continue to evolve their skills and solidify their community connections here.
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
Bonnie's Books & Things 
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