Book Review: Stand By Your Man

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Stand By Your Man     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Nancy Bartholomew
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Woman Main Character
Series: Maggie Reid # 2
Harper, May 2001, $5.99, 225 pp.

He cheated on her, lied to her, and destroyed her trust. Still even a divorce cannot fully sever the ties that bind country singer Maggie Reid with to her scoundrel of an ex-husband. When he is reported missing, Maggie swallows her pride and asks police detective Marshall J. Weathers, a man who once promised to call her but never did, for help. While there a perky rookie makes it clear she and Marshall are dating.

Feeling like leftover hash, Maggie goes to Vernell's home where she encounters a stranger carrying a gun. He wants her ex-husband too and threatens her before kissing and leaving her. Maggie's life plunges even lower when Vernell's car is found with a body inside. The victim is a moneyman for the Redneck Mafia and the millions he carried is gone with Vernell rumored to be the last person to see him alive. Maggie knows that Vernell is a rat but not a killer so she begins making her own inquiries without understanding the danger she is now in from unsavory characters.

STAND BY YOUR MAN stars a protagonist who refuses to be anyone's doormat. Her romantic life, which is at ground zero by choice, should prove interesting as three hunks are dying (pun intended) to go out with her. The murderer is hidden in plain sight so that readers never guess the perpetrator's identity. This down home regional mystery really rocks (to a country tune that is).

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner