A cleverly written piece of fiction, Follow the Dotted Line by Nancy Hersage introduces us to Andrea “Andy” Bravos. A semi-retired mother of four grown children, Andy has decided, on her own and without her children’s knowledge, to investigate the apparent death of the father of her children, who is also her ex-husband.
Andy, along with her nephew Harley and her best friend Lorna, sets out on a mission to solve the mystery of the death of her ex-husband whose ashes show up in a fast food hamburger box from his much younger widow. Along with the ashes came a note instructing the kids to leave her alone – not said as nicely as I just did.
Although it becomes apparent that Andy is definitely bored in semi-retirement, her spunky personality and stubbornness are definitely suited for becoming an amateur gumshoe. I enjoyed following her unique ways of obtaining the information she needed to determine that her ex-husband’s widow could possibly be a black widow.
I felt that Follow the Dotted Line was flawlessly written. Initially I really enjoyed the character of Harley and the interaction between him and Andy. However, I hoped for some sort of metamorphosis to occur in their relationship because I found she could be quite cruel to him at times.
I truly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading others that follow these characters, as the cover intimates the possibility there may be more Andy Bravos mysteries to come. Hersage’s work reminds me of Janet Evanovich or Sue Grafton, which were written well enough to do a successful series
Even though I truly felt this book was smartly written, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some lulls from time to time. However, the imaginative storyline was enough to carry me through. This is one of those books I have no problem highly recommending. Pick it up and enjoy! My note to Nancy…please write more Andy Bravos books!!!