Sandra Parshall's debut novel, The Heat of the
Moon, has
been nominated for an Agatha Award for First Novel and her talent shows
no sign
of stopping. Her follow up novel, Disturbing the Dead, continues the
story of
veterinarian Rachel Goddard.
Rachel has bought a veterinary clinic and is happily settling into her
new
life. She is content with her status as single woman, business owner,
and
friend. Her hopes for peace and quiet in her daily life are dashed by a
local
scandal from the past. A skull discovered in the near by hills turns
out to be
that of a woman missing for many years. Rachel gets dragged into the
mystery by
the investigative policeman, Tom Bridges. And she is not prepared for
the
feelings that arise when she becomes involved with the young girl,
Holly. Holly
is a relative of the missing woman, from a family living in the back
woods of
the area. When Rachel hires her to work at the vet clinic she also lets
her
live at her house and must protect then both from the efforts of
Holly’s family
to make her move back home. She also is fighting off her feeling for
Tom
Bridges, who has made clear his interest in her. They are both
dealing
with demons from their past, fighting off the effects from their pasts
that
threaten to overwhelm their present. As the mystery becomes more
complicated
and personal, the feelings of all come to a boiling point.
The plot runs along smoothly, the mystery itself is carefully mapped
out to
keep the reader enthralled to the end. The characters are strong enough
to
stand on their own- each one is finely drawn, detailed to hold their
roles in
the story strongly and consistently. Rachel, in this book as in the
first, is a
woman learning to stay strong but yet let others into her life. Sandra
Parshall
has done an interesting plot device by weaving in a traumatic storyline
of
Rachel's past that occurs between the first book and this one. Instead
of
relying on the events of The Heat of the Moon she created another past
episode
that affects Rachel strongly. Since so often a second book with the
same
characters just refers back to the original plot, this technique was
fine for
new readers and a treat for returning fans.
The storyline revolves around Tom Bridges and many of the characters
being of
Melungeon descent. The story of the Melungeon people was a fascinating
glimpse
into a part of