I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Fantastic book! This book has got to be one of the absolute best Scumble River books. The shenanigans of Skye's family and the Dooziers make these books. I want to visit Scumble River. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy! 📚

Come Homicide or High Water is the third book in the Welcome Back to Scumble River series written by Denise Swanson. This series is one of my favorites and I really enjoyed reading this one!

Skye and Wally are struggling with their contractor to get their dream home done before the holidays. Their contractor continually shows up late for work making the couple wonder what is going on. Skye is also returning to work after her maternity leave as a school psychologist. Juggling the twins, helping Wally, getting ready to move, soon she hopes, into their new home and preparing for the holidays, she realizes that life is going to be a lot different. Add in finding a suitable Nanny for the twins who can also handle Skye's Mom and Wally's Dad too.

Skye was hoping for a calm year but an irate parent is planning to sue the school principal. She discovers that the parent is none other than the wife of the contractor working on their house. When the parent is found dead in her backyard, Skye and Wally become involved in the investigation. Wally also has a missing person case on his hands and things aren't going well all around with the investigations.

I love reading and visiting Scumble River! The quirky characters grow on you and you look forward to reading more about them. A great cozy mystery with several red herrings to trip the reader up. It will keep you guessing until the end. I look forward to reading more in this delightful series. I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley from Poisoned Pen Press.

I am a happy reader who completed the full Scumble River Series. I was happy to see Swanson return to her characters with the "Welcome Back to Scumble River". Swanson is taking a slightly darker look at Scumble River, with the crimes a bit more graphic and her character profiles a little less idyllic. For example, her mother Mae's tendency to meddle has accelerated to the point where Skye's nanny resigned.

Swanson was a school psychologist prior to her writing career. She brings an insider's view to the profession. Here she describes the task of dealing with a parent who assumes a child is gifted, and won't take no for an answer. A disaster looms when the parent decides to sue both Homer (the useless Principal) and the school district. The threat intensifies when the parent becomes a murder victim. Swanson cleverly suggests two of the long term Scumble River residents (Homer and Earl) as suspects (along with others). Will Skye be willing to help them? The B plot involves a missing woman that also may be a murder victim. She and Wally work diligently to solve this crime. The solutions is novel and very satisfying.

Swanson writes a good standard comedic mystery. Her banter is lively, providing a reader with a chuckles.
At times her characters are written closer to slap stick comedy than satire., Her sense of plot and setting remain strong. Swanson is developing other series. One can hope that she will stay with Scumble River and the stories left to tell

Recommended

Full disclosure: I received this ecopy from netgalley and Poisoned Pen in exchange for an unbiased review. thank you for this opportunity

A fun addition to the Welcome Back to Scumble River series. Skye Denison-Boyd is the school psychologist for the district and when needed assists the Scumble River police department. Her husband, Wally Boyd, is the police chief in this small town and relies on Skye’s insight in to various cases. On maternity leave following the birth of their twins, Skye becomes involved in two investigations for the department. A woman, who may have dementia is missing and another woman is murdered at her home. I recommend this fast-paced story with a host of quirky characters and the original Scumble River series as well. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Come Homicide or High Water
(Welcome Back to Scumble River #3)
by Denise Swanson

Kindle Edition, 341 pages
Published October 20th 2016 by Bookouture




Goodreads synopsis:
There's something fishy just below the surface of Scumble River...

School psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd is getting ready to return to work from her maternity leave and hoping for a peaceful year in her job as a school psychologist. But when an elderly woman disappears on her first day back and a disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school, Skye realizes that her return will be anything but quiet.

When the parent suing Skye's school is found dead and with the missing woman's case is still unsolved, Skye suspects the crimes are somehow linked. With her chief of police husband, Wally, at her side, Skye dives into the investigations. But as tensions rise and Skye and Wally's suspect list lengthens, they start to wonder whether a member of their own tight-knit community could be behind it all...

***

4.5 Stars

This is the third book in the Welcome Back to Scumble River mystery series by Denise Swanson.

Skye Denison-Boyd is a school psychologist who is returning after maternity leave and finds that things at her school are just as explosive as they were when she left. One of the parents is suing the district and is mysterious found dead by none other than a man in a turkey costume. Then said turkey dressed man calls Skye to come and save him from having to call the police since he thought they would immediately think him to be a suspect. He thought Skye had some clout since her husband is the chief of police.

In the midst of all this chaos, an elderly woman in the community has gone missing and for some reason Skye is caught in the middle of it all.

I thought this was a compelling story with so many avenues and things to look at that you never knew which clue was important and which clue was just there to throw you off course. I like that in a mystery. Skye and her husband Wally are very likable characters and you root for them to solve the case. I am not certain where Wally and Skye get their wealth since this is the first book I have read in this series, but it seems to be a sticking point for some of the characters and why they treat the couple as they do.

I look forward to reading more books in this series. They are well written, flow well and grab your attention from page one. If you love a good cozy mystery, why not try out this one and judge for yourself.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

The third in the Welcome Back to Scumble River series involves two seemingly unrelated events. Skye and Wally are anxiously awaiting the end of construction on their new home, after the last was destroyed during a hurricane that ripped through town. Living in the RV with twin babies has become rather cramped. However the contractor continually is late or a no show altogether. Skye is slowly easing back into her position as the school psychologist after being out on maternity leave? Her first task, dealing with an irate parent intent on suing the school. Skye is shocked to discover that the parent is the wife of their sub-par contractor and even more surprised when the woman turns up dead. With a missing persons case still left unsolved and the holidays looming around the corner, Skye and her police chief husband Wally have their hands full.
It is always a treat to visit Scumble River. The quirky characters I have grown to love are present in this newest addition and many of them receive some long overdue lessons from Skye. Along with the familiar faces are some new additions as well that round out the narrative. The characters are not stagnant and mature over the course of the series and there is plenty of personal growth in this story in particular. The two subplots blended seamlessly, rounding out the mystery portion nicely. I highly recommend this series to long time lovers of the series as well as those new to Scumble River.

This is a great series and I would love to visit Scumble River. Skye and Wally are back in this installment to investigate a murder and a missing person. I love all of the characters, especially the Dooziers.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An intriguing mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. Come Homicide or High Water is a story that you'll enjoy reading ad the characters will win your heart over.

This is the 3rd installment in the Welcome Back to Scrumble River and my first introduction to this series. Skye Denison-Boyd is a new mother of twins and she is married to the Chief of Police Wally. They are building a new house and are currently living in an RV. They are struggling with the contractor to get the work done before the holidays. Skye is also returning to work after her maternity leave as a school psychologist. She is hoping for a calm year but an irate parent is planning to sue the school and the parent is none other than the wife of the contactor who is working on their house. She ends up dead in her backyard and Skye becomes involved in the investigation. The town of Scrumble River is a very interesting place and it was a good mystery. I am planning to go back and get the first two in the series.

This is the third book in the welcome back to scumble river series. Skye and Wally are still living in a rv while their house is being build. With two new babies the rv is feeling very cramped. She starts to worry that the project won't be finished before the holidays as the contractor continually shows up late. She is also dealing with a parent that intends to sue the principal of the high school. Skye soon realizes the the parent is the wife of their contractor. The wife turns up dead in her backyard not long after and Wally and Skye have a murder to investigate alongside a missing persons case they were previously looking into.

I always love to visit Scumble River. There are no shortage of quirky characters. How can you not love the Dooziers. I thought the mystery was well done and the different plotlines blended together wonderfully. I also like that we get to see both Skye and Wally's point of view. It is different than in the original Scumble River series where it was only written from Skye view. It is interesting to see. The one thing that i felt was missing was we really didn't see Skye's friend Trixie as much as we used to. I miss her and Skye sleuthing together. I would definitely recommend this series and plan to read more.

Another enjoyable entry in the Scumble River series. One of the things I appreciate about this series is that life moves on. The characters mature and there's personal growth unlike some other long running series I used to read and finally got tired of (NJ bounty hunter and a cookie baker are two). This keeps this series fresh as well as the large group of background characters.

Some of the background characters get "thrown under the bus" in this book and I have to say a part of me was cheering. I was also glad to see Skye is no longer the doormat she once was (part of that personal growth mentioned previously).

This story takes place much more outside of the school since Skye is on maternity leave, though, of course, she still pops in. Because less is set there, we get more Wally time which was great after all these books. There's even section featuring him without Skye.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press have helped make my day with Denise Swanson"s newest Scumble River mystery featuring Skye Denison-Boyd and the wonderful cast of characters she lives with.
Skye is still on maternity leave from her job as school psychologist for Scumble River schools. Between a missing elderly woman and the wife of her general contractor being found dead, Skye is again helping her husband Police Chief Wally Boyd try to find answers to both mysteries. Juggling the twins, helping Wally, getting ready to move, soon she hopes, into the new house and getting ready for the holidays, Skye is realizing life is going to be very different when she returns to work full time and has to find a Nanny with everything else happening. Lots of familiar faces and some new ones make this another must read for fans and newcomers to this series alike! I was guessing throughout the whole book and the answers surprised me when they were finally revealed! Happy reading!

This is the first book I've read in this series, and I really enjoyed it! Having a school psychologist who's married to a police chief as a main character in a cozy series is such a smart idea. Skye is often called in to consult with the police, and it gives her access and involvement in a case without the author having to constantly justify her involvement. Obviously, it still stretches the bounds of reality quite a bit, but it's easy enough to put that aside while reading.

I like Skye and Wally, and their relationship and job challenges make the story feel grounded and real-ish. The plot was clear and easy to follow, and the two separate cases intertwined just enough to enhance both stories. Great subplot about the missing woman, and the resolution worked well.

I'll definitely be going back to read the first books in this series. This one avoids many of the overused tropes of cozies lately, and I had fun spending time with an intelligent, real-life character!

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I need to read the books before this to know what is going on. Would love to read this series. I heard great things about this author

This is another good one in the Scumble River series. Skye is managing her maternity leave and now a murder as well. She gets dragged into it by Earl Doozier of all people. It also involves her contractor that is building her new house. There is multiple mention of the tornado that came through town and destroyed their house as well as others. I realized that I had missed the previous book, so I will have to backtrack and read that one! The mystery rides along at a good pace and everything unfolds and makes sense. All of the favorite characters are back. I really appreciate that the author is still interested enough in Skye and the rest of Scumble River to put in a great effort to make the story interesting and not just phone it home as some have with long running series. This has been around awhile, and I hope that it will continue to delight us with tales of Scumble River.

I'm not real familiar with this series, but I have enjoyed others of the Authors so I thought I'd give it a try. Funny, with a great cast of characters, and plenty of red herrings. Enjoyable.

It is always fun to visit Skye in Scumble River! Her families dynamics are interesting and add to the fun of figuring out who the murderer is. I am always left wondering what her Uncle Dante is up to though! A fun mystery that will leave you guessing., I am not ever able to figure it our before the big reveal!

Warning Red Herrings! so while I was able to spot some of the red herrings, I wasn't able to figure who did it. I enjoyed this book and Skye, Wally and family are great. Scumble River is a good place to visit, although I always wonder what Mayor Dante is up to.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Skye Dennison-Boyd is one of my favorite protagonists. I've enjoyed every book in the series and this one is top notch.
A missing you and a murder are just a couple of the things Skye and her husband Wally are dealing with. Add twins, living in an RV and her over involved mother, and you will find Skye with her hands more than full.
Of course, we all know how independent and determined Skye is, so when she becomes embroiled in these investigations, we see her at her best. Of course, no book is complete without the wild antics of the Doosiers, and fans won't be disappointed with their shenanigans in Come Homicide Or High Water.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.

I love this series. The relationship between Skye, Wally, her parents, his father, is wonderful. The plots are smart and unique and have terrific surprises along the way. More please Ms Swanson!