Retro Reading: Trouble in the Tarot by Kari Lee Townsend
Kari Lee Townsend could have redeemed herself with this installment of the psychic adventures of Sunshine “Sunny” Meadows. Sadly, it doesn’t happen.
In this go round, it’s the annual week long Summer Solstice Carnival and Sunny has agreed to read tarot cards as a favor to Granny Gert. With all proceeds of the carnival going to a worthy cause she can’t say no.
While reluctant, Sunny does see it as a chance to gain new customers along with meeting other Divinity residents.
On opening day, her first reading is with Fiona Atwater, Granny’s arch nemesis of many years. Fiona’s in town with her knitting group.
In her vision, Sunny sees Fiona in a violent argument and when Granny spots her, the two renew their feud. Throughout the week the two are seen all over town and become the prime suspects in the death of local baker Bernadette Baldwin.
The feuding duo are placed under house arrest under the careful eye of Sunny, while Detective Mitch Stone looks into the murder. Of course Sunny can’t handle the two women and she starts to investigate Bernadette’s murder as well.
While Granny’s character is still annoying, Townsend does balance it out with the addition of Fiona. The banter between the elderly women is fresh and very well written. It would have been beneficial if the novel revolved around their banter.
Unfortunately, when the action switches away from them, I found myself page counting. I also found the idea of the house arrest to be unbelievable since they are suspects in a murder investigation.
Although this installment didn’t turn me into a fan of the series, I think Townsend should have left the debut book as a stand-alone and maybe moved onto a different set of characters in the series.
