Killer Tied, by Lesley A. Diehl. Camel Press. 264 pages. Trade paperback $16.95.
Ms. Diehl’s sixth Eve Appel Mystery, like the others, uses her background as a former professor of psychology to deepen readers’ understanding of her characters’ dilemmas, fears, and frustrations. At first, the most unsettled and needy character seems to be Eleanor, a young woman who comes to the rural Florida town of Sabal Bay with the seemingly outlandish claim that she is Eve’s half-sister. But how can this be if the woman is much younger that Eve, who has been led to believe that her parents drowned when she was very young. 
Eleanor’s stepfather, who tried to hire Eve to find his daughter, is found stabbed to death, the weapon turns out to be a very recognizable knife belonging to Lionel Egret, Eve’s mysterious father-in-law, who leads the life of a recluse and resents Eve’s marriage to his son. Eve, just launching her career as a private detective, probably should not take on a case that hits so close to home, but she can’t resist professionalizing her busy-body tendencies.
Maybe the story of Eve’s parents’ death, received from the lips of her loving grandmother (“Grandy”), is not true.
With her part-Miccosukee husband Sammy, Eve now has the responsibility for their adopted sons. How can she perform her motherly duties and deal with the stresses of her pregnancy while tracking down the missing or maimed branches in the family tree?
Diehl
Accompanied by a good friend, the friendly mobster named Nappi (Napolitano), Eve shuttles back and forth, leaving the Lake Okeechobee area for investigatory trips to Connecticut and Upstate New York. The diseased family tree needs to reveal its secrets, and Eve is determined to pry them loose, but others are just as determined to keep them hidden and scare her off the track.
That hospital and other records Eve seeks in order to pin down important pieces of family history are missing suggests that she has adversaries trying to foil her search for the truth. Who are they? What, in particular, are their motives? . . .
To read the entire review, as it appears in the March 22, 2018 Naples Florida Weekly, click here: Florida Weekly – Killer Tied
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