August cooks for Prentice, cleans for her, and even makes new curtains for the kitchen. She advises Prentice, though, that she will not be able to tell Prentice what decisions to make, just guide her through them.

On a walk through her family cemetery, Prentice notices that her uncle Faris’s grave has been dug up and the casket and body are missing. She doesn’t know what to make of the situation, she knew there were plans to move the grave to build an access road, but doesn’t think this move is connected with that.

Several days later, her uncle’s coffin turns up on Prentice’s farm with a woman’s body inside. The police focus their investigation on Jasper Totherow, a local man with a violent past who has been seen squatting in Prentice’s barn. As if all this craziness is not enough, after going through her sister’s effects, Prentice learns that she has a young nephew, but has no idea where to begin looking for him.

As Prentice tries to track Joey down, she realizes that someone else is searching for Joey. She also suspects someone connected to the dead woman is still lurking in the woods. She must muster all her inner strength and find her nephew and keep him safe, while she tries to untangle the mystery of Uncle Faris, not to mention put her own life back together.

An Angel to Die For is a whimsical fantasy with two mysteries to keep the interest. Augusta is a delightful mentor, but she is not as fully developed as she was in her first outing. This time Augusta adjusts to modern life and all the changes (her previous last assignment was during World War II) much better, but her delightful anachronisms present in the first novel are missing.

Prentice is a caring young woman as she tries to shield her mother and aunt from unpleasantness until she has all the facts. She puts a good deal of effort into her family, whether searching for and protecting Joey or trying to locate her unpopular, long dead, Uncle Faris’s body.

There are several mysteries going on at once and Mignon Ballard deftly juggles each, giving reader’s room to guess the solution, but saving one last surprise before tying everything up neatly. A good sense of place is created as Prentice visits small town America where residents still take care of each other, even if it means hiding some faults. This is a fun, quick mystery that will have readers hoping for their very own whiff of sweet strawberries.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry