My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t normally read whodunnits and especially ones set in the deep south of the States. But I’ve known of C. Hope Clark’s reputation as a writer for a long time and agreed to take a copy and consider giving it a review. I was intrigued whether her reputation was well-deserved or not. I was also intrigued to read any book where the blurb opens with “Are peanuts capable of murder?”!

Despite not having read the first book in the Carolina Slade series, I quickly got into the characters – Slade herself, her family, her work colleagues and her guy, Wayne Largo. The story initially didn’t matter too much to me (not a great mystery fan remember) but that rapidly began to change.

One of the signs of a good book, for me, is when something happens to a character which genuinely upsets you. That happened for me in Palmetto Poison. I remember shouting out loud “Oh no! No – you can’t do that!” and choking back an unmanly tear. At that point I knew I was hooked and remained so I remained to the very last word.

Of course, now I want to read the first book. More to the point, now I’m desperate for the third in the series too. I want to know more about these characters – C. Hope Clark cleverly sets up scenarios which leave you wanting more – and see how things evolve and resolve. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

So if you’re a fan of this genre of fiction, Palmetto Poison is absolutely one you want to read or listen to. And if you’re not? Well, try it anyway. Like me, you just might fall in love with a new genre.

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