Kirkus Review
A new chapter in the life of Police Chief Susan Wren, a young widow living and working in the small town of Hampstead, Kansas (Murder Take Two, 1998, etc.). At the very peak of the flu season, Susan is working with a severely attenuated force when the body of furnace repairman Tim Holiday is found in the basement of the house where Caley James lives with her three children. Zach, the oldest at 12, is the son of Caley's ex-husband Mat, whose mother Ettie sometimes sits for the children. Tenacious research turns up Holiday's true identity. He's Branner Noel, convicted 12 years ago of the brutal murder of his wife but recently set free from a Texas prison on a technicality. Even as Zach gets himself involved in a grownup scam and another victim surfaces, Susan puts together some minor but puzzling words and actions that eventually lead her to killers past and present. Weir continues to entertain with her crisp, easygoing style, some intriguing characters, and a complex scenario that still holds up to close inspection.
Booklist Review
Although Hampstead, Kansas, may be similar in size to fictional Mayberry, Police Chief Susan Wren has a lot more on her plate than Andy Griffith ever did. As Christmas approaches, half of the town's police force is out with the flu, and a series of burglaries is confounding those still standing. Meanwhile, Wren is nervous about her long-overdue trip home to San Francisco, where her cantankerous parents await, along with her old boss, determined to hire her back. The last thing Wren needs is a murder, but tell that to whoever killed furnace repairman Tim Holiday, whose grotesque corpse, hands and face burned off in the furnace, is discovered in the basement of church organist Caley James' house. A murder is also the last thing needed by flu-weakened James, who is struggling to avoid her cheating ex-husband and support her young children. In addition to the highly sympathetic Wren, Weir fashions fascinating portraits of James and her oldest son, Zach. A cliff-hanger ending will have fans anxiously awaiting the next installment of this endearing cozy. --Jenny McLarin