The Body in the Wetlands (A Jazzi Zanders Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Lyrical Underground (April 23, 2019)
Paperback: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 151610840X

Synopsis

High summer in River Bluffs, Indiana, is always sweltering and sweet. But the heat is really on when a decidedly dead body turns up in the neighborhood.

When established house flippers Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod donate a week’s worth of remodeling work to Jazzi’s sister Olivia, they’re expecting nothing more than back-breaking roofing work and cold beers at the end of each long, hot day. With Jazzi’s live-in boyfriend and partner Ansel on the team, it promises to be a quick break before starting their next big project—until Leo, an elderly neighbor of Olivia’s, unexpectedly goes missing . . .

When the friendly senior’s dog tugs Jazzi and the guys toward the wetlands beyond Olivia’s neighborhood, they stumble across a decomposing corpse—and a lot of questions. With Jazzi’s pal Detective Gaff along to investigate, Jazzi finds her hands full of a whole new mystery instead of the usual hammer and nails. And this time it will take some sophisticated sleuthing to track down the culprit of the deadly crime—before the killer turns on her next . . .

Guest Post

Today we welcome author Judi Lynn to StoreyBook Reviews.  She gives us a little insight into her writing and how pets play a part in her books.  I love dogs so always enjoy reading a book that includes any animals but especially dogs.

Hi!  I’m Judith Post, and I write cozy mysteries under the pen name Judi Lynn.  In The Body in the Wetlands, Jazzi and her cousin, Jerod, and her live-in boyfriend, Ansel, are fixer-uppers.  When Jazzi’s sister, Olivia, and her boyfriend buy a ranch-style house, the three of them volunteer to give Olivia and Thane a week of free labor to renovate it.  Even though Indiana summers are hot and humid, they decide to start with the roof, which needs new shingles.  And that’s how they meet Olivia’s neighbor who lives a few doors away.  Every day, he takes his dog, Cocoa, for a walk in the afternoon and again in the evening.

Leo is retired and cares for his wheelchair-bound wife.  His daily walks get him out of the house for a short while, and the man’s devoted to his chocolate lab.  He’s also lonely.  So every day, he stops at the side of the road to catch Jazzi for a short chat when she climbs down the ladder for a break.  Jazzi begins to suspect that Leo stops to chat with anyone he sees on his daily strolls, and she becomes fond of the man and his dog.  Her boyfriend, Ansel, is every bit as enamored of his spoiled pug, and she’s devoted to her two cats, Inky and Marmalade.

I included pets in this story because my husband and I have always had cats in our house, sometimes too many of them.  My daughters had a habit of finding strays and lugging them home until I finally forbade any more of them.  It wasn’t until my daughters grew up and moved away that we got down to one again.  But before Holly left, she and her boys bequeathed us with a noisy chihuahua.

Chewy belonged to neighbors who lived on the back street, but every time I cooked supper and had the windows cracked, he escaped their yard and ended up on our side porch, scratching to get in.  We live on a busy street, so we’d open the door and let him in, then call our neighbors to tell them he was at our house.

The first time we called, they came and got him immediately.  The second time, they came in fifteen minutes.  Then, in half an hour.  Until finally, the wife came and told us that they were giving up and taking Chewy to the pound the next day and she hoped someone would adopt him.  The pound, at that time, had more chihuahuas than they could find homes for.  His future didn’t look good.  My grandsons had gotten attached to the dog.  Their faces fell, and they looked at my husband.  And what can I say?  We caved, and Chewy became our dog.

About the Author

Judi Lynn received a Master’s Degree from Indiana University as an elementary school teacher after attending the IPFW campus. She taught 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades for six years before having her two daughters.  She loves gardening, cooking and trying new recipes.

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