Shadow over Cedar Key

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: A phenomenal effort by Mrs. Cook. I was intially drawn to this novel after a recent 3-day trip to Cedar Key and I'm so glad I came upon it. I'm an avid reader of Randy White, RBP, John D. MacDonald, Peter Matthiessen, Dennis Lehane, etc., and I'm sure that Mrs. Cook's books will lay next to theirs' in my bookcase for years to come. Brandy O'Bannon can hang with Doc Ford and Travis McGee any day of week. I almost wish I'd had Mrs. Cook as my High School English teacher, too, as maybe I would've turned into the writer I always wanted to be (instead of the 9-5 software professional I ended up being). Highly engrossing, highly suspenseful, highly characterized, highly rich in FLA history, and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: A phenomenal effort by Mrs. Cook. I was intially drawn to this novel after a recent 3-day trip to Cedar Key and I'm so glad I came upon it. I'm an avid reader of Randy White, RBP, John D. MacDonald, Peter Matthiessen, Dennis Lehane, etc., and I'm sure that Mrs. Cook's books will lay next to theirs' in my bookcase for years to come. Brandy O'Bannon can hang with Doc Ford and Travis McGee any day of week. I almost wish I'd had Mrs. Cook as my High School English teacher, too, as maybe I would've turned into the writer I always wanted to be (instead of the 9-5 software professional I ended up being). Highly engrossing, highly suspenseful, highly characterized, highly rich in FLA history, and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read from a talented and insightful author
Review: Ann Turner Cook is the individual behind the famous Gerber baby picture we all grew up with. She is a retired English teacher and member of the Mystery Writers of America. She resides in Tampa Florida with her husband, who assists her in her research.

Brandy O'Bannon is trying to make a name for herself in the newspaper business, and to do that she needs the elusive "big story." When her editor sends her out to investigate the story of a woman from New York who has been missing for twenty years, she springs into action. The woman had a two and a half year old daughter, and they simply vanished in the Cedar Key area. When O'Bannon arrives in Cedar Key, she quickly meets a woman named Cara Waters who may be the missing child, and learns of a skeleton found in the cistern in the basement of a local hotel which could be the mother. But what events transpired and how to track them down is the big challenge for Brandy. Her husband, John, is being actively pursued by his architectural intern, Tiffany Moore. The folk of Cedar Key are tight-lipped, and Brandy thinks they know much more than they admit. A fellow investigator is murdered, and Brandy begins to worry for her own safety:

"She had started across the narrow sidewalk toward a street lamp when she heard the scuffle of footsteps behind her. She whirled. A thick figure was rising from the basement entry, its face grotesque, a blur of mashed lips and flattened nose. Brandy dropped her suitcase. Her heart thudded and her fingers tightened around the straps of her bag. A stocking mask, of course."

Ann Turner Cook writes quite a colorful story for someone with such an angelic face. Her writing is of a high caliber, clear and full of action. She allows the reader to savor the story, yet become totally enmeshed in the action. Shadow Over Cedar Key is a high action, suspenseful, and yet tragic tale that is sure to pull at the reader's heartstrings. Brandy O'Bannon is a wonderful example of a young person trying to find her place in the world and yet keep her marriage from crumbling. Her own tale is a love story most haunting, as Poirot would say. An excellent and entertaining read from a talented and insightful author.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer