The Angel And The Jabberwocky Murders (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
Small town life is anything but dull, as Lucy Nan Pilgrim is beginning to learn. Things have settled down since her guardian angel, August Goodnight, came into her life and helped her through a difficult mystery involving the history of her home and a few suspicious deaths in town. Life has settled back into its routine, brightened just a bit by Lucy's blossoming relationship with Ben and the slow healing she's finding in the connection with her daughter. Things don't stay quiet for long, however. Lucy, who has recently accepted a part-time teaching assignment at the local college, finds herself in the middle of another bizarre mystery when a young girl at the school is found brutally murdered. A look into the past reveals that this recent death isn't the only suspect one in the college's history. Several girls have, in fact, lost their lives in strange ways. The tenuous connection between the three deaths is strengthened when similar letters quoting Lewis Carroll's poem about the Jabberwocky are uncovered in their possessions. What do these veiled clues mean? Can Lucy and Augusta solve the mystery before another student ends up dead? As with every truly great series, this one keeps getting better with each new book. Now that Augusta has found a temporary "home" surrounded by a constant cast of characters, the books have become richer due to the greater character development and more complex plots. As in the previous books, Augusta remains on the edges of the story while the main action focuses on Lucy Nan and her friends. I like this aspect, for it avoids the "silliness" that the novels could fall into with too much focus on a quirky angelic character. As she explains to Lucy, Augusta is only there to provide support and guidance not protection from danger or an easy answer to all of the questions of life. She does her job well, cooking amazing desserts, giving gentle clues and providing a nice dose of humor with all of her mis-quoted idioms. The mystery in this book is well-plotted and, though hints are provided throughout the book, is just difficult enough to solve to make it absorbing. All in all, a delightful read!
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