Tonya Kappes captures the charm and quirky characters of small-  town Kentucky in her new mystery, Fixin’ To Die.  She launches the new series featuring determined, almost fearless Sheriff Kenni Lowry.

After graduating from the police academy, and working as a university cop, Kenni ran for sheriff of Cottonwood after her beloved grandfather, Poppa, the previous sheriff, died of a heart attack. Now, she’s half-way through a four-year term, and there hasn’t been a crime in town. Then, all in one day, Cottonwood has a crime wave. Doctor Ronald Walton is found dead in his house, and the town’s jewelry store is robbed. Kenni might look a little silly showing up at a crime scene with her hound, but they were out in her jeep when the first call came. She’s not worried about looking silly. She is worried that she’s going crazy when she starts to hear voices, well, one voice. She swears she hears the voice of Poppa giving her advice. And, she knows she’s going crazy when she sees him.

It seems Poppa has been protecting the town so there wouldn’t be any crime on Kenni’s watch. But, even a ghost can’t stop a determined killer. Now, it’s up to Kenni and the hunky Kentucky State Reserve, Finn Vincent, to look into the strange events that are happening in Cottonwood.  And, she now has Poppa’s help. If Kenni can’t weasel the gossip out of the women in her Euchre circle, maybe Finn can charm them and get answers. Kenni isn’t the only one who finds the reserve handsome.

Kappes’ previous mysteries have been funny pictures of small-town Kentucky. Her latest, Fixin’ To Die, is a charming, funny story with exaggerated characters. The dialect-filled quirky sayings and comments bring those characters to life. Best of all, for a mystery reader, the culprit was an unlikely suspect, but the solution made sense.

Hopefully, Tonya Kappes and Sheriff Kenni Lowry have found a home with Henery Press, a publisher that specializes in mysteries with humor and strong female characters.

Tonya Kappes’ website is www.tonyakappes.com

Fixin’ to Die by Tonya Kappes. Henery Press. 2016. 9781635110371 (paperback), 204p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I bought my copy of the book.