A.H. Gabhart’s latest series, “Hidden Springs Mysteries,” is a little bit Mayberry meets Mitford, and a whole lot of fun.
When town busybody Willadean Dearmon finds what she believes is a drunk on the steps of the courthouse on her daily morning visit, total mayhem breaks out. You see, this total stranger — a man absolutely no one seems to know in this small Kentucky town — is not really drunk but dead! And murders just don’t happen in little Hidden Springs!
Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane, who has returned home after a stint in the big city, quickly gets pulled into this bizarre case. As we learn of Keane’s troubled and sorrowed past, how many more bodies will show up? And does this case have anything to do with the disappearance 10 years ago of troubled teen Anthony’s mother, as well as Keane’s own past?
“Murder at the Courthouse” is filled with many typical small town characters — some serious and some downright funny. Gabhart does not present too many characters very deeply, so you don’t really get to know many of them (and at times it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who). But by the end you start to fall in life with these zany townsfolk and you do start to get a sense of Michael Keane, and what makes him tick; Anthony Blake and his tragic story; and lovable Aunt Malinda “Lindy” Keane.
This novel was not just a fun, cozy, small-town mystery read, but it also offered some powerful lessons — hope, God’s faithfulness and mercy, second chances that come with responsibility, and the responsibility to become the person you are meant to be, as shown in this passage: “Plenty of times Malinda hadn’t wanted to be the responsible one. Times when she wanted to be flighty yet beloved like her mother. Or beautiful and treasured like some of her friends. … But a person was whoever they were. Perhaps the Lord looked ahead in her life and knew what she would need to be to do the tasks he had in mind for her.”
I’m looking forward to learning the future of this quaint little town in the next installment.
Four stars out of five.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.
“Murder at the Courthouse” (Hidden Springs Mysteries series, #1) by A.H. Gabhart