CALLIE AND THE DEALER AND THE DOG JAKE by Wendy Howell Mills

CALLIE AND THE DEALER AND THE DOG JAKE by Wendy Howell Mills
Oak Tree Press - July 2001
ISBN: 1892343150 - Paperback
Amateur Sleuth

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer, MyShelf.com
Buy a Copy

Callie McKinley seeks anonymity and refuge as a restaurant manager in the Holiday House Hotel on the Outer Banks, North Carolina. She is trying to overcome a traumatic shooting in California. As she attempts to adjust to her new position, she finds memos and records left by her predecessor who left hurriedly. In attempting to discover the reason for the overrun of costs in the restaurant and the source of the thefts of hotel property, she places her life in jeopardy. In addition to the attempts on her life, the situation is complicated by the discovery of the body of one of the employees found in the food freezer. Callie must track down the killer while the area is threatened by a killer hurricane.

This is a very readable book. It is fast moving and suspenseful. The writing is clear and uncomplicated; the dialogue realistic. The locale is beautifully described. The character of Callie with her struggle to come to terms with her past is treated sympathetically. We are given a behind the scene view of the restaurant business and its problems. Add a cast of eccentric characters, the vivid and graphic portrayal of the impending hurricane, and a stray appealing Labrador dog named Jake and you have an enjoyable book.