A Touch of Gold, A Spirited Gift and a Haunting Dream by Joyce and Jim Lavene
Series: A Missing Pieces Mystery #2-4
Unlikely Sleuth: Dae O’Donnell, owner of secondhand store Missing Pieces and mayor of the small, tourist town of Duck, North Carolina. Dae also possesses a psychic-like gift where she can locate missing objects.
Synopsis: The following synopsis are taken from Goodreads because 1. I'm lazy and 2. I read these so fast the plots sort of started melding together. But mostly #1.
As the mayor of Duck, North Carolina, Dae is playing host to twenty North Carolina elected officials attending her first Mayors' Conference Weekend at the Blue Whale Inn. When the body of Mayor Sandi Foxx is discovered the morning after a severe storm, Dae receives a vision through the mayor's ring; that there's a killer among the guests who's as deadly as any hurricane. |
When her boyfriend Kevin’s ex-fiancée Ann arrives in Duck looking for a second chance, Dae suddenly finds herself facing certain heartache. And while her romantic life is in shambles, she’s even more concerned by the sudden change in her gift. After touching a medallion owned by a local named Chuck Sparks, Dae is shocked when her vision reveals his murder—and a cry for help. Dae doesn’t know what to make of the dead man’s plea to “Help her,” until she has another vision about a kidnapped girl—Chuck’s daughter, Betsy. With a child missing, the FBI steps in to take over the case. But Dae can’t ignore her visions of Betsy, or the fact that Kevin’s psychic ex-fiancée might be the only person who can help find her…
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A Haunting Dream (A Missing Pieces Mystery #4)Mystery Rating: 3.5 / 5
Some of the information is given freely, but other clues have to be earned. Occasionally the “detective” work is a little shoddy, especially when it comes to portraying the law enforcement characters.
Character Rating: 4.5 / 5
I love Dae like a good friend. I find her smart, endearing and overall an awesome person, but occasionally I want to smack her in the face (especially when it comes to her lack of self-esteem in relationships).I even still like Kevin – which is damn impressive because I rarely find a love interest I can tolerate for more than a few books before it gets old or annoying.
Romance Rating: 4 / 5
As I said before, I’m not appalled or annoyed yet, so it must be working. There were definitely some moments in the fourth book where I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room and stomp my feet (since, you know, I couldn’t reach into the Kindle and strangle the characters), but it worked in the book’s favor.
The Best:
The characters and, more precisely, the relationship I’ve built with the characters. They seem so relatable, which is impressive because I am in no way in the same age/location/situation as any of them. They are just so colorful! When I’m reading A Missing Pieces Mysteries, I feel like I’m surrounded by good friends. Laugh it up, I know it’s dorky, but it’s true!
And The Worst:
I’m still not a fan of Sheena. If the next book is about solving her murder, I’m not going to complain. There will be a next book right....?*
Series Rating: 4 / 5
I wasn’t sure about this series when I started it. It was cute, but very much a “well, duh!” mystery (where the clues are right in front of your face and yet no one seems to see them). I’m not sure if the mysteries got better or the characters won me over, but I am a huge fan of the series now! I really hope there will be a fifth book in the series. There had better be with that cliffhanger.*
*Update: I just found out the fifth Missing Pieces Mystery novel, titled A Finder's Fee, will be released on October 1, 2013.
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