Murder in the Corn Maze: A Granny Reid Mystery

McKevett’s heart-wrenching sequel to 2018’s Murder in Her Stocking explores the early career of California PI Savannah Reid, the author’s main series lead, while living as a child with her headstrong grandmother, Stella Reid, in McGill, Ga., in the 1980s. It’s Halloween, and devoted Stella takes sixth-grader Savannah and the rest of her grandkids to Judge Patterson’s antebellum mansion for the festive corn maze. Inside the maze, Savannah stumbles on a long-dead corpse, still in its Sunday best. Stella immediately recognizes the remains as those of Rebecca Dingle, who went missing years before. Stella can do nothing to dampen single-minded Savannah’s natural investigative inclinations as the girl begins to assist in the crime solving, but she must also protect Savannah from the possibly devastating town and family history the inquiry reveals. The insightful look into the Southern culture of the time and the fascinating backstories of each distinctive character elevate this outing. McKevett transcends the usual cozy and amateur sleuth tropes. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Assoc. (Oct.)