This is the second book to the Rose Gardner Mysteries by Denise Grover Swank. This is the 3rd time I’ve read this book, and this book is essential to the full understanding of the whole series. It introduces 4 new important characters: Neely Kate, Bruce Wayne, Mason, and Skeeter Malcolm. Pay attention to these characters – they are staying for the rest of the series. Rose meets Neely Kate during a jury duty summons, and they quickly become best of friends. Neely Kate loves the idea of Rose having visions, much to Rose’s surprise. Bruce Wayne is a murder suspect, who Rose finds is wrongly accused. Having experiencing a little too much déjà vu concerning her own recent almost incarceration, she tries her best to get him freed. Mason is the district attorney who is prosecuting Bruce Wayne. His character is initially very rough around the edges, but you’ll learn to love Mason. Skeeter Malcolm is someone apparently everyone knows about (except Rose) who owns the pool hall in Henryetta. His character becomes important later. Pay attention to these characters.
In this book, Rose is slowly growing more and more. She started out as a girl who was meek and didn’t think highly of herself, and she’s growing to respect herself. I love how DGS makes them so complex. I absolutely love this series. I cannot stress enough how much you all should read this series, and do not skip this book – lots of building up for the series happens here.