Reviews

Angel's Verdict: Fresh Fiction

Many people consider lawyers two-faced, but in Brianna “Bree” Winston-Beaufort’s case, her law practice really is divided in two. Her “day” gig pays the bills and funds her “other” job as the celestial advocate pleading for the souls of her clients otherwise condemned to Hell. Bree receives a visit from elderly actress Justine Coville, who says that she’d like to update her will. But before she leaves, she shares with Bree that she thinks that someone is trying to injure her on the set of Bitter Tide, a movie being made about the murder of Savannah’s infamous 1950s B-actress Haydee Quinn.

Justine is playing the role of Consuelo Bulloch, and is using one of Consuelo’s brooches to help her feel a connection to the character. But when Bree touches the brooch, she senses that Consuelo wants her help. Not sure what she can do to help either of them, Bree takes both cases, and soon discovers that both her earthly and “spiritual” clients have even more in common than she’d first thought.

During the investigation Bree is introduced to an outcast angel, Dent, who is really one of two detectives from the original case. He needs to seek forgiveness for arresting the man wrongfully convicted and executed for the murder. Between the two of them, the sleuthing duo manages to determine the real killer’s identity, but will it be too late to save Justine as well as help Consuelo and Dent achieve their heavenly reward?

Angel’s Verdict, author Mary Stanton’s fourth novel in her Beaufort and Company Mystery series, is a lively, fast-paced story that will thrill and chill readers as they race through the pages to find out “who dun it.” Stanton’s creative storytelling is flawless and her inclusion of a spiritual aspect to her mysteries gives the series the novelty edge that pushes them to the forefront of favorite cozy mysteries.
— Sharon Galligar Chance, Fresh Fiction