Book Review: Perish in the Palm by Kari Lee Townsend
Everything at some point must come to an end (but in this case it may not) and hopefully we’ve seen the last of Sunny Meadows.
In what appears to be the final (print and series name change) installment of A Fortune Teller Mysteries, Sunny’s best friend Jo is headed to the altar to marry Cole West. Unfortunately, there’s a murder at the reception.
During a bad storm, the tent in which the reception is being held collapses and when it’s raised, Sunny’s mother is standing over the body of hotel owner Peirce Theodore. It’s no secret that he and Vivian did not get along.
As the story progresses, Cole feels as though he should have the marriage annulled since he feels he’s cursed, Jo‘s depressed and announces she’s pregnant and Sunny tries to figure out who the murderer is, undermining now boyfriend Mitch Stone’s investigation.
Drama. Drama. Drama. And boring to boot.
There are many problems with this (and other books in the series) but as this installment could be the final, here are a few highlights.
Most couples who met throughout the four installments have either gotten married, engaged or are planning a wedding. The fictional town of Divinity, New York must be the the capital of desperation or horniness. As a reminder, the series doesn’t even complete a full year.
In the debut, Sunny is the prime suspect and thereafter, two family members. Is the Meadows family this disliked that all but one has been accused of murder? Who knows.
The mystery of Sunny’s cat Morty is never resolved and the characters are boring.
In this installment, when Jo announced that she was pregnant, she doesn’t say how far along she is. A few pages later, I thought she was eight months along since one minute she’s not showing and then boom!
While this hasn’t been my favorite series, I do like how Townsend explains Sunny’s gift and how she chooses the “tools” for readings. Having seen psychics in the past, I wonder if they too use their abilities and decide what would make a good reading.
Since I'm not a fan of electronic reading, a novella and full length novel follow this installment (see below).
