From Publishers Weekly
Amateur sleuth Jolie Wyatt has her hands full with another round of suspicious deaths in her fifth down-homey whodunit, Barbara Burnett Smith's Skeletons in Purple Sage. It's monsoon season in the small Texas town, and the mysterious drowning death of a local doctor and the disappearance of a young and somewhat unpleasant wife have Jolie juggling investigative duties, interpersonal politics and complex family dramas, all with her characteristic wit and aplomb.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Jolie Wyatt, KSGE radio reporter, wife, and mother, is back in her fifth cozy set in Purple Sage, Texas. During a flood that ravages the small town, a respected local citizen is found wedged in a tree, the body half in a swollen creek. Deep affection for the victim propels Jolie to investigate the death (and disprove the rumors of suicide, which in a small fundamentalist community like Purple Sage could cause the shunning of the victim and his family). The mystery is secondary here to the interlocking relationships of families and friends in the close-knit community, all of which is described in an appealing conversational style by the fiercely independent, highly sympathetic narrator, Jolie, who also takes time to discuss her own personal travails brought on by her beloved father's death and her mother's seemingly uncaring attitude toward her. Reminiscent of Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series, in which China also has a strained relationship with her mother. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Skeletons in Purple Sage FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Purple Sage, Texas, is experienceing a natural disaster, with floodwaters rushing through the streets and torrential downpours continuing with no end in sight. This calls for a dinner party! The governor's in town to assess the damage, and Jolie Wyatt, mystery novelist and amateur sleuth, is hosting an after-tour reception in his honor. Only problem is, the historic home that's to be the site of the extravaganza is under six feet of water." "Not to worry - Jolie has it under control. She moves the party next door, making the best of the resulting logistical and personal problems, since the new hostess is the younger second wife of the ex of one of Jolie's best friends. Despite the distractions, the governor's visit is running smoothly until a dead body turns up in a rain-drenched ditch." The investigation takes the whole town by storm, forcing Jolie to step in to find out what really happened on that dark and rainy night in Texas.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Amateur sleuth Jolie Wyatt has her hands full with another round of suspicious deaths in her fifth down-homey whodunit, Barbara Burnett Smith's Skeletons in Purple Sage. It's monsoon season in the small Texas town, and the mysterious drowning death of a local doctor and the disappearance of a young and somewhat unpleasant wife have Jolie juggling investigative duties, interpersonal politics and complex family dramas, all with her characteristic wit and aplomb. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Jolie Wyatt (Mistletoe in Purple Sage, 1997, etc.) is giving a party for two of her favorite people: her friend Beverly Kendall, returning to the little Texas town of Purple Sage after an ugly divorce, and her hero Dr. Bill Marchak, retiring from the hospital. There's only one problem: An hour before the party, Jolie finds that the site, her friend Diane Atwood's living room, is under two inches of water. Although next-door neighbor Tom Greer obligingly offers his house instead, Tom is Beverly's ex-husband, and Jolie and Diane are darned sure Beverly would not enjoy being feted in her old house while Tom's much younger wife plays hostess. Without alternatives, however, Diane and Jolie capitulate, and Beverly responds to the change in venue graciously-except for an irrepressible antipathy toward the Marchaks that Jolie, who thinks Dr. Bill is Marcus Welby reincarnated, can't fathom. Then Beverly's elderly father, Henry Kendall, suffering from chronic bad temper and the recent onset of Alzheimer's, disappears from the party. He turns up safe and sound later that night, but Dr. Bill isn't so lucky. When his dead body is fished out of Calvary Creek, Jolie sets out to quash rumors of her hero's suicide, mend fences with her mother, now dating the Sheriff of Purple Sage, and support Beverly as she deals with her needy father and ex-husband. Like Diane's living-room floor, the unusual murder motive is inundated by Jolie's periodic bouts of guilt and Smith's tendency to overexplain them.
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