Fixin' To Die

When old Doc Walton is found murdered, small-town sheriff Kenni Lowry must solve her first homicide case. Short-staffed, Kenni requests a temp from the Kentucky State Police Reserve Unit. Enter Officer Finn Vincent, a magnificent hunk with perfect teeth, materializing within minutes like an archangel (he was "in the next county"). Kenni's investigation is assisted by another surprise expert who's invisible to everyone but Kenni and her dog—the ghost of Kenni's deceased grandfather, the previous sheriff. Hillary Huber, Earphone awardee and AudioFile Best Voice, endows Kenni with a tweedy, no-nonsense drawl that assures us she's as capable as any man. Only she isn't. Kenni's Nancy Drew-style sleuthing rises to neither true male nor female police standards. The threadbare plot, sprinkled with contrived local kookiness and folksy Southernisms, is uncomfortable listening and a cuckoo in the cozy mystery nest. A more apt niche would be dozy mysteries—for people who read casually to kill time.