Hannah fears that her dad will marry the fortune hunter, who, clearly, is not a good influence on the recently widowed man. Hannah’s divorced sister, Ruth has been living in their father’s house, cooking and looking after their father while she tries to get her finances under control after an unpleasant divorce. Ruth detests Darlene, fearing that the woman will force her father into becoming a full blown alcoholic, as well as take control of the family fortune, which she could certainly use.

When their dad moves in with Darlene, and announces at a party that they will be married on New Year’s Eve, the situation becomes grave. The day after the party, Darlene is discovered dead in the bathtub, and Hannah’s father is missing. Of course, the police suspect the groom-to-be and figure he is missing on purpose, but Hannah knows her father would never kill anyone. She fears he has been murdered or kidnapped by the same person who killed Darlene.

Cozy mysteries must be the most difficult of all the sub genre to write from the standpoint of appearing logical. There is no reason for a person whose job is not in law enforcement or a related field to be involved in solving a crime without some convoluted explanation - except, as author Talley has noted, if the crime involves the protagonist or the protagonist’s family. In this case, Hannah has a greater incentive than the police to locate her father because she instinctively knows he didn’t kill Darlene, and, therefore, he isn’t in hiding. He must either be dead himself or being held against his will, since he would surely be hunting for his beloved’s murderer were he free to do so.

An occasional problem with cozies is the creation of situations, which seem logical, in which the protagonist can uncover information necessary to solving the crime. Ms. Talley has perfected this technique. Hannah needs a number of pieces of information which must be obtained from diverse sources, but with a few minor exceptions she does an excellent job. (Would any woman leave her handbag in the care of another woman she scarcely knows in the restroom? Or drive around in the winter with the windows down in the car and an infant in the backseat clad only in a sweater?)

Occasion of Revenge is the third in a series featuring Hannah Ives. (Following Sing it to Her Bones and Unbreathed Memories.) In the first book, Hannah’s status as a cancer survivor plays a significant role - not the case in this book. Admittedly having survived cancer colors Hannah’s thinking in some situations, but it isn’t the main focus of this story. This is a good move on the author’s part as it presents Hannah as less a victim and more of a person concerned with getting on with her life.

--Andy Plonka