Occasionally, a book comes along that I enjoy, but it’s hard to put my finger on the reason I enjoyed it. Carol Miller’s first Fortune Telling Mystery, The Fool Dies Last, has a few elements that would normally bother me. Maybe, it’s her writing, but for some reason the characters, the humor, and the touches of paranormal and romance just worked. The book was just fun.
Hope Bailey and her sister Summer Bailey Fletcher are the current owners of Bailey’s Boutique, established by their grandmother, Olivia. The mystic shop in Asheville, North Carolina sells crystals, candles, herbs, and Hope reads palms. She is an expert at reading the Tarot cards, but she gave that up in February. But, it’s Summer’s tincture, lemon balm, that brings Dr. Dylan Henshaw storming into the shop. He accuses the sisters of trying to kill one of his patients, but before they can get into a fight, Hope receives a call from their grandmother. Olivia is at the community center for bingo and dinner, and she’s asking for help.
Dylan is called to the center because his father is Dr. Morris Henshaw. He’s seeing Olivia, and he was on the scene when Roberta King collapsed and died. Why did Olivia call Hope? The victim has a Tarot call, the Fool, in her purse when she died. Olivia and Morris can provide all kinds of information about the victim and other people at the center. Hope is the only one who can tell Detective Nate Phillips about Tarot. Dylan, a man of science, thinks Tarot and all of the mystic items from the boutique are ridiculous. However, when another woman from Olivia’s circle of friends dies at the local spa, with another Fool card on her, everyone begins to wonder what the connection is.
As I said, I like the characters. Hope is a generous person who loves her sister and grandmother, and worries about them. Gram is seventy-four, but she’s not treated as an over-the-hill senior. She’s dating Morris, spends nights at his house. Even though she and several friends hide information from the police, Olivia is sharp. Then, there’s the secret of the attic in the brownstone where Hope lives. It’s an interesting paranormal element that leaves room for development in future books. And, there’s enough hints of future romance to entice the reader while not overwhelming the mystery.
I’ve never read one of Carol Miller’s mysteries, but I’ll be waiting for the next in the Fortune Telling Mystery series. It’s hard to go wrong with an interesting cast of characters, a twist in the mystery, a little humor, with a touch of paranormal and romance. Carol Miller brought all those elements together with skill.
Carol Miller’s website is http://carolmillerauthor.com
The Fool Dies Last by Carol Miller. Severn House, 2022. ISBN 9780727823038 (hardcover), 224p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I downloaded a galley to review for a journal.
