Review: `Welcome to the `sleepy fishing village' of Granite Cove, Massachusetts!'
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
Massachusetts author Sharon Love Cook is not only a polished writer who leans toward what she terms `cozy mysteries', but she is also a cartoonist, a rescuer of stray cats (she is the VP of Friends of Beverly Animals, a nonprofit that raises money for the care and feeding of abandoned pets, a sometimes stand- up comic, and one of those authors so full of good ideas that the reader feels the urge to call her to meet for coffee.  She grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts but now lives in another coastal town - Beverly, just north of Boston, the oldest working seaport in the US. Credentials (outside of being a fascinating person with a keen sense of pacing in tale-telling): she received her BA form Montserrat College and her Masters in writing and Literature from Bennington college. All of the foregoing preparation has thus far resulted in three novels - two (including this one) from the Granite Cove Mysteries Series.A quick summary of the story of A DEADLY CHRISTMAS CAROL is best related in the author's version: `Reporter Rose McNichols has an opportunity to write about a mediums class given by Hyacinth Chitwick, the charismatic though prickly wife of Pastor Walter Chitwick. That night, after the class, Rose discovers the body of Dionne Dunbar, one of Hyacinth's students, in the road, a hit and run victim. Rose has reason to suspect it wasn't accidental. However, no one believes her. While Rose searches for the truth behind Dionne's death, rehearsals are taking place for a community production of A Christmas Carol...' But only scans the surface of the pleasure derived from settling into Cook's cozy mystery. The writing style is natural, unafraid to use contemporary expletives when indicated, keen on development of the mystery aspect, painting (she is an artist afterall) characters so real they feel like they have steeped out of a photogravure, and a sense of community too often lacking in contemporary literature.Sharon Love Cook certainly bears watching (the immediate response after reading one of her books is to tap into the others and wait for more to come). Hers are books to tuck into places chosen specially for escapism and warmth. Grady Harp, June 14