Skeleton’s Key by Stacy Green (Delta Crossroads #2)

Skeleton’s Key is the second book in the Delta Crossroads series by Stacy Green. If you want to start with the first book called Tin God, click on the link to see my review.

Both books in the series are really well written romantic suspense novels. The first (besides all the mystery, murder and crime aspect) brings Jaymee and Nick together in a romance that initially seems highly inappropriate. Afterall Jaymee was best friend with Nick’s wife, Lana, who was murdered some 4 ago. However their relationship works really well, to the strong disappointment of Cage, who is deeply in love with Jaymee (who in return doesn’t feel quite the same way about him). Ok, this is the only spoiler I am giving for that book.

Now to Skeleton’s Key. Cage who is still wallowing in his mystery due to him losing Jaymee, has found quite an interesting hobby as of late: taking care of Ironwood Plantation, one of the famous antebellum homes in the hot and Southern town of Roselea, Mississippi.

He once tried to buy the house, however as the church wouldn’t sell it to him, Cage decided to take on a second job as a handyman at the plantation (besides being in the police force), just to be close to the house and help bring it in better shape. Not long after, however, the old house is sold to a Yankee, no less, much to the disappointment of Cage, and many other locals who feel that the place should belong to someone from the South, who understands their ways of life.

All this changes right away, as soon Cage sets eyes on the feisty and fast talking Yankee woman, Dani Evans, the new owner of Ironwood. Of course, now it’s easy to know from the beginning how the love story will end in the book.

But honestly, that’s the only thing I could figure out early on while reading. Just like in the first book in the series, I didn’t know who the killer was until the very last few pages. I was so sure it would be someone else, a more obvious suspect, in fact.

Regarding the killings and the bodies, I really enjoyed the old past mixed in with the recent one. The basement, which holds the mystery of an old body, also opens up to the discovery of two additional  much more recent  bodies. Now since Cage has been working on the plantation for the last couple of month, he automatically becomes suspect #1.

And this is where things get more complicated and the race to prove his innocence starts with great help from Dani, who is not afraid to break in to forbidden places just to help the man she now loves.

There is quite a lot more in the book than what I summarized, and the author really knows how to keep us on our toes while searching for the real killer and rooting for Cage and Dani. Skeleton’s Key is a great example of a well written, well presented and well executed romantic suspense mystery novel that any fan of the genre won’t be able to put down. I know I couldn’t, I actually read the book in two afternoon sittings.

The murder mystery is great, with some  interesting characters that you can’t but either love or hate, and the settings and place descriptions literally brought the place to life. While reading about Dani’s first struggles with the enormous heat in the place, the mosquitoes and whatnot, I could really imagine me being here, feeling the same on my skin and breath. I love it when an author can bring a place to life like this through their writing.

In the book there are some deep secrets that are waiting to be unearth, and the surprising ending really makes it worthwhile waiting. Like I mentioned below, I was totally wrong about the killer and their intentions (and I’m sure I’m not the only one).

Overall, I think this second book in the Delta Crossword series is worth a 5 star from me, which I will happily give.

Before you start, should you read this book as a standalone or after reading Tin God first? Since I’ve read now both, I think you can go about it both ways, but if you don’t read the first book before tackling Skeleton’s Key, I think you’ll be missing out on some great relationship interactions and developments that are satisfactorily resolved in the second book. For the pure mystery aspect alone, each book can be read on its own.

To learn more about Skeleton’s Key by Stacy Green or get the book, visit Amazon

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