Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli is a rather rare jewel among writers. She can make you laugh, keep you interested and make you angry with a certain character all at the same time. It is these conflicting emotions that make me return to her writing time and again.

In this book, Emily literally stumbles upon the scene of a murder and once more, things are not as simple as they might first seem. I am always thrilled to see what she and Dolly do with the information they gather. I love the interaction between those two ladies, and for me, Dolly is always what makes the book.

There is more ex-husband drama to be had in this story, and it gave me a good reason to smile, watching the way Emily shuts him down. I liked the way the story flowed and thought the mystery was interesting and original.

I love the setting of these stories and the way the author describes the place that her main character lives as well as the surrounding areas. She makes great use of not only proper word choices, but of the seasons, the time of day, etc. for a full immersion reading experience.

This book kept me entertained for the better part of a day, with few breaks in between. If you like mysteries that think outside the box, this is perfect.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Emily Kincaid settled in what seemed to be a quiet corner of Michigan. There is no lasting peace there as she finds a dead body of a woman who had appeared to be sleeping, a cult-like group descends on the town spouting end of the world rhetoric, and now her best friend and detective Dolly seems to have gone off to join the cult.

Emily is on assignment for the local paper covering ghost towns when she stumbles upon what she takes to be a sleeping woman, but turns out to be a dead woman. She is identified as a shaman from Ohio by her friends. As the mystery progresses, it gets more complicated. Why was this woman here from Ohio? Did she have something to do with the end of the world group? What about her roots in the area? Is that what brought her back?

Emily finds herself smack dab in the middle of the investigation since Dolly has been hanging around at the campground for the "end of the world" group. Add in a politician, a mysterious older woman, and Sister Sally and Brother Righteous from the group and you get quite a mystery. There are also what seem to be the usual happenings in town. The woman that owns the main restaurant is caught posting someone's family tree without permission. Emily and her dog, Sorrow, romp the land near her home. And the old bachelor nearby to her home seems to have finally found love.

The book starts out good. Then it slows down for a bit. It took persistence to finish it. I wanted to know what was going to happen, but there were times I found myself reading very slowly.

The character of Emily is interesting and is the most fleshed out in the story as the main character. I have the feeling that in the earlier books Dolly is more fleshed out as is their relationship. So, while this book can be read as a standalone, you might get more satisfaction if you've read other books in the series as well. This is the third book in the Emily Kincaid series.

The mysteries themselves have red herrings. You are given everything from Emily's point of view, so you can solve the mysteries along with her, or at least come to similar conclusions.

This book was originally published in May of 2010 by Midnight Ink. This review is of the Kindle edition published December 2016 from Beyond the Page.

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5. Overall I enjoyed it. It was slow in parts, but the events kept me reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen both with the "end of the world" group and with the mystery of the dead sleeping shaman.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.