A Premonition of Murder

A Dream Club Mystery, Book #3

By Mary Kennedy

ISBN#9780425268070

Author’s website: www.marykennedy.com

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

 

Synopsis:

When Abigail Marchand, Savannah’s famously reclusive heiress, invites the Dream Club ladies to lunch at her Beaux Reeves mansion, Taylor and Ali hope for an invitation to join the distinguished Magnolia Society. But Abigail has a more pressing concern: a recent dream that seems to foretell her death.

Taylor reassures Abigail that there are many ways to interpret a dream, but at the next meeting of the Dream Club, their discussion is cut short by a call from Detective Sam Stiles. She’s at Abigail’s mansion, where the elderly woman appears to have been pushed to her death down a flight of stairs. Now Taylor, Ali, and the Dream Club need to catch a killer before someone else is laid to rest.

Review:

Taylor and her friends in the Dream Club are at it again in this third installment in the Dream Club Mystery series.  The concept of the series is novel, a group of ladies who interpret dreams that lead to solving murders.  Unfortunately, A Premonition of Murder never quite becomes the mystery of my dreams.

Sisters and proprietors of retro candy store and café Taylor and Ali are asked to lunch with Abigail Marchand, a reclusive heiress who rarely invites people into her mansion.  The pair hopes to see her beautiful home and think that an invitation to join the Magnolia Society, a philanthropic preservation group, might also be included with lunch.  However, Abigail has another agenda. She has been dreaming about her own death.  Though the ladies encourage her that the dream is symbolic, they are shocked to learn the next evening that Abigail has indeed died, apparently pushed down the stairs.  Taylor, her ex/potential boyfriend Noah, and the Dream Club investigate as the bodies pile up, and more and more secrets are revealed.

There is quite a bit going on, mystery-wise, in A Premonition of Murder – two murders, an accidental death (or was it?), theft, art forgeries, and just plain old greed.  One would think that it would be pretty exciting, but I found it repetitive.  There are several viable suspects, but there is little unearthed about them to move the plot along.  Again, repetitive.  It also contains several distracting inconsistencies.  For instance, an overflowing bathtub is mentioned, but two pages later it is noted that there is no water on the floor.  What?  Or headshaking moments such as when Taylor finds herself in a dark basement having a hard time finding her way out. But, right before the lights went out she took a picture with her cell phone.  Why can’t she turn the phone on to light her path?  Minor things, but, cumulatively, they are annoying.  The ultimate reveal of the “bad guy” comes as no surprise, and I am left wanting more.  It feels like there is less emphasis on the dreams solving the crimes in this installment, and I think this is good.  For some reason, I have a hard time suspending reality to believe the dreams tell all.

The characters are appealing enough, including a wide variety of ages, interests, and occupations.  However, Dorien’s cynical and condescending attitude left me wondering 1) why is she part of the Dream Club to begin with and 2) why do the other members put up with her?  I think Ali is meant to come across as sensitive and a free spirit, but instead she is weak and has no business being in the amateur sleuthing business.  I like Taylor, Noah, and the elderly twins.

I did like A Premonition of Murder, really.  It is just not among my favorite cozies.  I do not hesitate to recommend it to fans of the series and those who like a Savannah, Georgia, setting.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*