Solid Ground

Authors: Danny & Wanda Pelfrey
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Series: Adairsville Heritage Mysteries #1

Seven years between them, Kirby and Riley Gordan, nurtured by their pastor father and loving mother, experienced almost ideal childhoods growing up in the Boston area. Then a season of misfortune culminated in the worse of all possible tragedies – the death of their beloved parents.

Four years have passed. Kirby, having failed at marriage and pro-baseball, is now a Florida police detective. He finds himself in little Adairsville, Georgia along with Riley, his law school bound sister. They are there to settle their uncle’s massive estate. It is soon apparent that Uncle James’s death was no accident. But the worst of it is their names at the top of the suspect list. The siblings are embraced by spunky caretakers, Amos and Carol, whose love, wit, faith, and plain ole horse-sense bolster efforts to solve the murder and put Kirby’s life back on track.

After reviewing SOLID GROUND, Terri Gillespie, award winning author of “The Hair Marven Series” commented, “The quaint town of Adairsville, Georgia is filled with quirky folks, history, beautiful scenery, sweet tea, and murder.”

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Reviewer: Debbie Smith

Brother and sister Riley and Kirby are both meeting in Adairsville to discuss details of being named heirs to their uncle’s estate. Surprisingly, one of the first things they learn is that his death may not have been an accident. The scene is looking more like someone killed him and then staged the accident.

The story was interesting and managed to weave here and there causing me to to wonder who killed Uncle James.

What Concerned Me

Though these are small concerns, I still feel the need to share them.

The prose, though correct, felt very formal with the use of whom and which. And at times the dialog felt unnatural.

“I’ve only known them for a couple of days, but I think they’re the kind of people to whom one could trust his life.”

“He never dated any girl but Sherrie before marrying her shortly after turning 20 years of age.”

Though I’m told it’s a quaint town, I would love to have read more details of what is unique to the town. Mentioning Cracker Barrel and Wendy’s didn’t help me feel the small-town vibes.

The story felt a bit too driven by dialog.

What I Liked

I am excited about the possibilities of this story. I like the idea of it centering around a small-town, and I especially fell in love with Amos and Carol. These two are definitely hometown people.

There is also the possibility of a romance in the future, and I really like that Riley is going to school to be a lawyer and that Kirby is a detective. Great for future books.

The authors manage to bring some very good thoughts such as forgiveness and prejudging people into the storyline. They also do a great job of presenting the issue of homelessness.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

Crosslink Publishing provided a complimentary copy of this book through Interviews & Reviews. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

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