COLD-CASE KILLER
by Dorothy Francis
Five Star/Thomson Gale
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive
Waterville, Maine 04901
ISBN 1594144850
295 pages, Hardcover, $25.95 US
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Keely Moreno is enjoying her business as a foot reflexologist as well as life with long-time friend and lover Punt Ashford while trying to resolve lingering fears and nightmares from her past with an abusive husband. When Keely’s cleaning lady Maxine Jackson asks her to help Maxine’s son Randy, Keely is hesitant. Randy has recently been released from a 20-year imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Dyanne Darby, after DNA evidence proved he was not the killer. However, when Keely receives a note stating that she will die if she helps Randy, she decides to ask Punt, partner in an investigative agency, to look into the matter.

Randy is angry at his wrongful imprisonment and has a volatile temper. Although proven innocent, no one will hire him and his predicament has embittered him. He insists that the person who killed Dyanne must be one of the divers he used to work with, and Keely and Punt begin to look into these men, most of whom are now successful businessmen. Keely decides to lay low after someone tries to run her over while riding her bike, but the killer, after her with a vengeance, kidnaps Keely and takes her to an abandoned cabin somewhere in the Keys. Keely manages to escape, but facing danger from snakes and alligators is the least of her worries as a fierce race begins between her and the armed killer.

Dorothy Francis gently draws the reader into the laid-back appeal of Key West, her words eloquently portraying its lush beauty and brutal ruggedness. This cozy mystery is loaded with suspense woven into a well-developed mystery that will keep the reader eagerly engaged. Keely is a woman with a past that has left mental sequelae who is trying to move forward with her life. The warm chemistry between Keely and Punt is a bonus for those who enjoy romance, and the secondary characters surrounding Keely add further depth to an exciting read.