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DEATH BY THUNDER was Gretchen Sprague's last novel before she died in 2003. This was supposed to be the first book of a possible series of cozies featuring a young divorced photographer moving back to a small town in the Adirondacks Mountains with her own new share of adventures. It is unfortunate that we will not get to see any more books by this author, but the publisher did right by printing this last novel in what appears to be a very good start. It is just sad that the author will not be able to see where this book might have led. Janet Upton witnesses a man falling to his death while she is taking some pictures of the mountainside. Janet has recently moved back to upstate New York after her divorce was finalized and has gotten a job working at the town's cultural and community center as its director. Her passion has always been photography and she wants to give that love of that craft to the children in town. She will get the opportunity to do that, but first she has to deal with the dead man. Janet is shocked to learn it was her uncle who died and that he has left her a land inheritance that would have been worthless had he been alive for a few more days. No one is sure if his death was caused by murder, suicide, or accident and the police hope to find something on her pictures. When Janet discovers that her film has been sabotaged she can't help but wonder if there is something else that she is missing. Why would her estranged uncle deed her a piece of land and why the sudden interest? With the assistance of a young photography apprentice, Janet undertakes her own personal investigation. She must be careful when walking by the mountainside, she might just be pushed to her death. By the time everything comes clear to her she will have lost more than she has gained. It will be up to her to make things right. Yet, she is still a newcomer in town. Who will listen to her? Sprague's novel is an easy and comfortable read as she just writes about the ordinariness of a small town as well as the extraordinariness of its people. It is a simple story with a simple solution, but still it is able to grab readers wishing that they could explore this character a bit further. Unfortunately, that is not meant to be. But Sprague has provided a good story that will stay with readers for a while.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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