It's obviously been awhile since I've read this series but I felt at home again quickly. I liked the main characters of Samantha/Sam and her lawyer sister Jenna. The supporting cast is rather large, admittedly, but I took notes as needed and found myself able to connect relationships fairly easily. Boyfriend/fiance Frank Patterson seems to be not only a marvelous baker but capable of being scary to suspects, an interesting combo, especially when you toss in Frank's friend and former military buddy, Garrett, a sniper who has done "scary things". I think that means they were super spies or Seals or something akin to national security. The only thing that seems to frighten Garrett is Irma. Nope, not telling you why. You'll just have to read the book.
As for the murder, it begins with secret code being sent via eye blinks. Before any real response can be mustered, however, Alva Tarkington is dead and her family seems to be more interested in when they'll receive their inheritance than showing any sadness over her death. The only one who seems to have cared is Isabella, who plays an important role in the story. I'm not going to detail the plot further but will say it involves family drama, lots of it, art, shady business dealings, senior sleuths, the importance of estate planning, and, oh, yeah, the FBI gets involved. And lots of food. You'll pick up lots of info on art, especially painting, including art theft and forgery from as far back as World War II. Let's just say, Sam has her hands full sorting it all out.
Bottom line, despite having obviously missed a couple books, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's quite character driven and the regulars are well fleshed out. Nana Jo is definitely a force to be obeyed, that's for sure. And let's not forget Snickers and Oreo, the two now senior cats of the story. Thanks #KensingtonPress for the early peek and reminder to me that I need to catch up on reading. I always enjoy the two-for-one concept as we get Sam's current mystery strewn throughout the current one, a real plus. Rather cool to see a bit of Winston Churchill vs Neville Chamberlain's appeasement approaches.
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