Hallow

Hallow includes a family of characters—not related by blood—that will endear it to even the snobbiest of cozy mystery readers. Author M.R. Dimond went above and beyond in creating characters that I may not necessarily want to live next door to, but would definitely like to get to know better.

Hallow is the fifth installment of the A Black Orchid Enterprises Mystery series. This is the only book of the series that I’ve read (thus far, anyway), so my observations may be limited by that caveat. However, I quickly came to the conclusion that the main group of characters have been together for some time and know each other quite well.

I could start a synopsis by saying a lawyer, an accountant and a veterinarian walk into a house, but you’d likely think I was starting a joke. However, that is the actual setting of the story: the three professionals live and work together in Gregg House, a Victorian mansion located in Beauchamp, Texas, about 20 miles from Austin.

The entire story is told in the first person POV by JD Thompson, the attorney. JD has been in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Diane, the accountant, on and off, but during this story they’re strictly platonic. Johnny, the vet, is JD’s college friend. They all perform in an ABBA cover band: JD does keys and vocals, Johnny plays bass, and Diane is the front person. To enhance all this weirdness, the story begins just before Halloween, and Johnny (the vet) always collects all local black cats at that time of year to avoid unthinkable things happening to them during the holiday.

That may seem like a lengthy description of the story setting, but I think it’s necessary to understand the ambiance/backdrop of this mystery. If the setting was any different, I don’t think the storyline would work nearly as well.

“I wondered how many Japanese steak knives he intended to stick in my heart that day. Memory Lane can be lined with pointed objects.”

—JD Thompson

There are two different, yet significant, plots to the story. The first is JD’s grandfather hires him to find a woman he knew many years ago, but returns to focus because he recently received something in the mail that he had given her before shipping out to Vietnam.

The second storyline involves JD representing a local man with a family probate problem. This is not boring legal stuff. There is no legalese that must be endured. Actually, this plot produces most of the calamities in the story.

Many times multiple plots in a story can lead to literary disaster, but this author did a wonderful job of keeping the plots moving forward and keeping the reader focused and informed.

There is a perfect amount of lighthearted comedy throughout the story, and I loved it! For example, the author used the words “catitat” and “catio” to describe the building where most of the cats live and the modifications made to the house patio for the cats (respectively). Those hilarious tidbits of humor add the levity that is so indicative of cozy mysteries. Not only does it work, but it works quite well in my opinion.

I wouldn’t say the author goes overboard with description, but I think that is partly due to the story being told from JD’s perspective. Let’s face it, some attorneys just aren’t into visual details.

Of the three main characters, JD’s character arc is the absolute best. Not everything turned out the way he wanted, but isn’t that what best friends are for?

Something else I really enjoyed was the “This and That” section the author included after the story ended. In this section, the author discusses how some of the events in the story are loosely based on actual events. Also, the author included a Playlist of songs that would likely enhance the reading experience.

I think it would have helped—or at least satisfied my curiosity—if the author could have included a little more back story on how all the characters came together. This is my only actual criticism of the story.

By the time I finished Hallow, I was quite endeared to the main characters. In fact, there’s a very good chance that I’ll go back to the beginning of this series to see how it all came to be.

Happy reading!