I picked up Kathleen Bryant's Over the Edge primarily for its Sedona setting-- one that I am very familiar with-- and the setting certainly did not disappoint. Bryant had me deep in Red Rock Country, visiting ancient Indian ruins, hiking remote canyons, slapping off orange-red dust, and thirstily emptying my water bottle while watching tourist-laden Jeeps jounce past. And speaking of them,
anyone who's been to Sedona has seen the ubiquitous Pink Jeeps, and I enjoyed learning more about that part of Sedona's tourism industry.

The mystery is a strong one that kept me guessing, and the action unfolds at a steady pace. Unfortunately, I never warmed up to Del Cooper, and that definitely is a problem. If Del makes another appearance, will I read the book? Probably, if it's also set in Sedona. But if I still don't warm up to her, I'll have to find another fictional way back to Red Rock Country.

Del's discovery of the body of Franklin, an unhoused man, while she's out hiking, sets the former reporter off on a quest for answer in this sort of thriller sort of cozy novel set in Sedona. There's secrets and lies, a real estate developer but more intriguing is the former movie set and other crimes. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This could easily be the first in a series.

After discovering a body in a remote canyon, former journalist Del Cooper begins to investgate how Franklin, a homeless man from Sedona, wound up so many miles from town and who would have murdered him. This thriller focuses heavily on the local politics and land deals, to the point that I found myself forgetting about the murder. Sedona is one of my favorite places and I enjoyed the chance to revisit in book form, but didn't love the mystery element.

Over the Edge is a well written thriller. I enjoyed the edge of your seat plot. I recommend this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

This was OK for me - a bit overly descriptive at times and some interruptions to the story that made it hard to get back into it.
Some aspects of it being a thriller, and at other times it read like non-fiction.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

Over the Edge
A Novel
by Kathleen Bryant
Pub Date 04 Jun 2024
Crooked Lane Books
General Fiction \(Adult\)| Mystery & Thrillers


Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley provided me with a copy of Over the Edge for review:


This cat-and-mouse thriller sets in the red rock canyons of Sedona, where a former reporter must piece together her shattered memories in order to stop a killer.



In an effort to rebuild her life, Del Cooper takes a job with a down-on-its-luck tour company in Sedona after a disastrous mistake ends her career as a crime reporter. Her peaceful small-town escape ends when, hiking in a remote red rock canyon, she finds the broken body of a murdered man.  While hiking in a remote red rock canyon, she finds the body of a murdered man, ending her peaceful small-town escape.  


Initially, she believes the murder is connected with a land deal that will pave the way for a luxury development on the edge of town, but it seems money was not the killer's only motivation. As she digs deeper, she discovers the town's darkest secrets, which lead her to Lee Ranch, a former Western movie location. Del interviews two women, and rumors begin to swirl faster than Sedona's famous energy vortexes. But she knows the truth: Someone is watching her from the shadows.However, she knows the truth: Someone is watching her.

Del becomes desperate for answers and ventures into the wilderness to lure the killer out into the open. In the red rocks, however, bodies can be lost forever.


I give Over the Edge four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Over the Edge engages the reader with grand and realistic descriptions of the southwest, specifically Sedona, and a full set of intriguing characters. Del, or Delilah, is a former journalist who has come through a difficult past back East that is never fully explained, and as she lives on the property of her late aunt, she is drawn into questioning the death of Franklin, a local man whom she discovers dead, he having been shot.

Del works for the struggling Blue Sky Tour Company as a guide, and she doesn't always feel a seminal part of the company. However, her connections to the local people she works with and her knowledge of and appreciation for the locality are a strong piece of what makes this book powerful fiction.

The plot of the book is not simple, in fact, it is curious and somewhat complicated. Del is the one person who is determined to figure out what happened to Franklin and then to two others who disappear. The book is a compelling read, and there are suppositions of Del that keep the reader engaged and wanting more details about crime and the identification of criminals.

This book is a fast and interesting read. I would definitely read another book by Kathleen Bryant.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

I picked up Over The Edge as the backdrop a murder mystery in Sedona, AZ was something new and held a lot of appeal. While the book was an average mystery it took me a very long time to finish this one because of the unusual word choices. Over the course of this book, I felt constantly interrupted with words like "Loupe", "Didgeridoo", "Docent", "Layette" just to name a few. At the start it was great- what better way to improve your vocabulary, especially if its an e-reader and all you have to do is select the word & Kindle will find the definition for you. However over the course of the book words like this appeared frequently and I found it quite irritating because it kept interrupting the flow also especially if there was a simpler word available. Because of this everytime I took a break from reading I found myself quite reluctant to get back to it, and it took twice as long to finish. I enjoy simple, free flowing words that get the message across. However if you have a thing about fancy words this book might not faze you as much as it did me. At its heart, this book had an overly simple plot but was very rich in its descriptions of places/locations in Sedona. It makes sense now that I've read the author's biography - a travel writer. I enjoyed reading chapters that focussed on Blue Sky tourism activities and found the nuances of the small tourism company and its employees quite entertaining.
Thank you Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books & Kathleen Bryant for the arc!

Del Cooper's life is not easy. Secrets and lies...mayhem...this talented author has written a page turner. Try and discern the ending...red herrings make that difficult. Even the title is intriguing. This story is fiction but reads like nonfiction. Realistic characters keep the story moving quickly...Thanks Netgalley

A cozy mystery with a slow build-up, set in the alluring backdrop of the town of Sedona.

Delilah (Del) has moved back to her hometown in Sedona after a stint as a reporter in the East Coast. She has signed up to be a tour guide for Sky Expeditions. Teejay, Sarah & Missy work with her and they have grown to know each other well. They find a dead body in the mountain ranges. He is Franklin, a person well known in the area, who has been homeless for some time. He was shot. Del takes an interest in finding out what happened. She meets his ex-girlfriend Jane and later Ryan Droscoll, the senior enforcement ranger. Franklin had been at a party the night before he was found dead. There are various hypotheses offered for his murder – personal animosity, drug dealing, smuggling or murky land dealings. There are others in the area who are part of the story – Barbara Lee & Whittaker, owners of Lee Ranch; Marisol, their caretaker; Mark Stillman, a designer; Lyssa, part of a group called ‘Daughters of Ishtar’ among others. There are some brief references to past happenings when Del was in the East Coast, and a few memories are still painful. There are sketchy references to yoga & mysticism, and I agree with the author that the town would lend it itself to that.

I loved the backdrop of beautiful Sedona, though the book does not fully capitalize on the possibilities, and the narration could have been more atmospheric. The sleuthing is amateur and this should be regarded as a cozy mystery. I liked Del’s character, but none of the other characters are well developed (also since the story is told from Del’s perspective). The pace is quite slow, though the suspense does hold well till the end.

The cover is lovely, isn’t it? A light relaxing read.

I enjoyed this one I felt it was an engaging and well. Plotted mystery where the setting is a main character too .
I loved reading about Sedona
Thanks to the publisher for letting me review your book.