Book ~ "The Legacy" (2016) Gary Gusick

From Goodreads ~ When the governor of Mississippi requests her help, Yankee transplant Darla Cavannah can hardly say no - even if the timing couldn’t be worse. She and her dreamy husband, Dr. Stephen Nicoletti, have just been approved to adopt a baby girl in China and getting wrapped up in a high-profile homicide will almost certainly complicate, if not derail, all their plans. But as Governor Wilson Burnett relays the details of the case, Darla feels deep sympathy - and blinding outrage at a promising life cut short.

On the campus of prestigious Ole Miss, a young African American student has been found killed just hours after her initiation into a previously segregated sorority. The murder would be shocking under any circumstances but this student is Caitlin Burnett - the white governor’s adopted daughter.

With public outrage building and media coverage intensifying, Darla’s partner, Rita Gibbons, proves invaluable. Her deep roots in the community - or “trailer trash cred” - helps considerably as the crime-solving pair sift fact from fiction. If this murder was racially motivated, why does the most damning evidence appear to have been staged? As the trail leads from Caitlin’s fellow Delta Betas to radical white supremacists and her father’s political enemies, the detectives close in on the disturbing truth - and a devious manipulator pulling all the strings.

Darla is an officer whose specialty is hate crimes.  She and her husband are hoping to adopt a baby soon and she plans on retiring so she can stay at home and raise the child.  She gets a call from the governor of Mississippi that his daughter, who was African American and adopted, was murdered and found hanging from a tree and he asks her to find out what happen.  Everyone assumes a white supremacist group was behind it and as Darla and her partner, Rita, start to investigate, they wonder if it isn't too convenient and obvious.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I liked the writing style and thought it was well-paced.  It's written in third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action is.  It was an interesting read especially if you are a fan of Delta blues music (like B.B. King).  The language at times is for a mature reader.

It is the third and latest in the Darla Cavannah series, a Philadelphian transplant in Mississippi, but it works as a stand alone.  You don't have to read the first two (I have) to know what's going on as there's enough background given.

I'm enjoying this series.

Book ~ "Officer Elvis" (2015) Gary Gusick

From Goodreads ~ After performing at a local old-folks home, off-duty police officer and part-time Elvis impersonator, Tommy Reylander, smoothes out his pompadour, climbs into his pink Caddy, and gets all shook up - fatally so, when a bomb explodes. Whether he was killed for his police work or bad singing is a mystery that detective Darla Cavannah is determined to solve.

Though it’s been several years since Darla (reluctantly) partnered up with Tommy, she convinces her boss to let her lead the murder investigation. As the new regional director of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Shelby Mitchell can think of better uses for his star detective’s time but not even the most hardened good ole boy can resist Darla’s smart, savvy persuasions. 

She soon embarks on a roller coaster ride through the world of Elvis tribute artists while tracking down one of the most bizarre serial killers in the history of the Magnolia State. Aiding her pursuit of the killer is recently reprimanded officer Rita Gibbons, fresh from the trailer park and described by Shelby as “half a licorice stick short in the manners department.” But Rita’s plenty smart, even when this case takes their suspicious minds in an entirely unexpected direction.

Tommy was a police officer and part-time Elvis impersonator tribute artist.  After playing a gig at a seniors' home, he gets in his caddy, which promptly blows up.  Darla, his former partner, takes the lead on the murder investigation, which leads her to talk with a former drug dealer who now saves catfish, the owner of a strip bar, a poker-addicted lawyer and Tommy's girlfriend, Cill (she was "Priscilla" in his act).  She eventually makes a link to other Elvis tribute artists as she tries to solve this murder.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I liked the writing style and thought it was well-paced.  It's written in third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action is.  It's an easy fun read ... you'll especially appreciate it if you are an Elvis fan.  The language at times is for a mature reader.

It is the second in the Darla Cavannah series, a Philadelphian transplant in Mississippi, but it works as a stand alone.  You don't have to read the first one (I read it in 2013) to know what's going on as there's enough background given and this book happens a couple years later.

I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Book ~ "The Last Clinic: A Darla Cavannah Mystery" (2013) Gary Gusick

From Goodreads ~ Outside the local women’s health clinic, the Reverend Jimmy Aldridge waving his protest sign is a familiar sight. But that changes early one morning when someone shoots the beloved Reverend Jimmy dead. Sheriff Shelby Mitchell knows the preacher’s murder will shock the good people of Jackson - and the pressure to find the killer is immediate and intense, which is why Shelby calls in detective Darla Cavannah.

When police detective Darla moved from Philadelphia to Jackson with her husband - hometown football hero Hugh “the Glue” Cavannah - she never imagined the culture shock that awaited. Then after Hugh dies in a car crash, Darla enters a self-imposed exile in her Mississippi home, taking a leave of absence from the sheriff’s department. Now she’s called back to duty - or coerced, more like it, with Shelby slathering on his good-ole-boy charm nice and thick, like on a helping of barbecue.

Reluctantly partnered with a mulish Elvis impersonator, Darla keeps a cool head even as the community demands an arrest. The court of public opinion has already convicted the clinic’s doctor, Stephen Nicoletti, but Darla is just as sure he’s not guilty - even as she fights her growing attraction to him. From the genteel suburbs to a raunchy strip club, Darla follows a trail of dirty money and nasty secrets - until the day of judgment comes, and she faces down an ungodly assassin.

Darla is a police detective from Philadelphia who moved to her husband's home town of Jackson, Mississippi.  When her husband, Hugh, is killed in a car accident, she takes some time off working in the sheriff's office to grieve.  She gets called back to work when Reverend Jimmy Aldridge is murdered while he is protesting outside an abortion clinic.  She is teamed with fellow cop, Tommy, who is an annoying Elvis impersonator.

Tommy wants to solve the case quickly so he can get some glory while Darla wants to take her time and check everything out.  What she discovers about the beloved reverend will shock his congregation.

This is the first book by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and thought it was well-paced.  There are lots of potential suspects.  The language at times is for a mature reader.

I liked the characters.  Darla is grieving the loss of her husband but it pulled into this case by her boss.  I found her likeable and fair.  Her boss, Shelby, was a typical southern guy and I liked him.  Tommy is all about Tommy and is amusing because is that egotistical.  Geeky intern Uther also adds an element of humour.  All the ladies in town love Dr. Nicoletti, including Darla, and she fights her attraction to him because he may be the murderer ... plus she wonders if she is ready to move on after the loss of her husband.

I would recommend this book ... I'm assuming there will be others in this series and I look forward to reading them.