Carolina Slade trips over a body while checking out seagrass for a hat-making class and her vacation suddenly gets interesting. Slade and Largo are a few hours from home, staying at a beach cottage near Indigo Plantation on Edisto Island. Largo, a federal agent and Slade’s significant other, has been known to assist Slade on a case or two. This time, in “Dying on Edisto,” she unhappily babysits the body while he reports the death.

But, this is Edisto Island, Callie Morgan’s neighborhood. Callie is the Police Chief in Edisto Beach, just a few minutes down the road. Morgan just happens to be at Indigo, the new resort/B&B on the island, doing a meet and greet with the manager. But the meet and greet is interrupted before it really gets underway when Largo reports the body and Morgan and her deputy have to check it out. And we wonder…whose book is this – Slade’s or Morgan’s?

What ensues is an entertaining mashup between C. Hope Clark’s two successful mystery series, Carolina Slade Mysteries and Edisto Island Mysteries. The backgrounds of both women tie the two series together as Clark skillfully compares their stories and personalities through dialogue and internal thoughts. 

Morgan is inexplicably assigned to run the murder investigation (which is outside her own jurisdiction), raising eyebrows in the Edisto Beach town council and causing her problems all around. The reason? That would be telling. 😉

The colorful cast of characters in “Dying on Edisto” includes a self-proclaimed pirate, an unpleasant travel blogger, an overbearing officer from the Sheriff’s department, a protective family, and Callie’s yoga teacher pal, but Callie Morgan’s efficient staff is also on hand at the Edisto Beach station, with her deputy supportive/protective as always. Clark takes time to develop intriguing subplots, so when we discover the reasons behind the behavior of some of the main characters, the pieces of the story fall neatly into place. 

The setting itself, the coastal South Carolina hot weather environment surrounding the Indigo Plantation, is an additional, fully fleshed out, vivid character in “Dying on Edisto.” Between the sudden storms, the treks through the mud and dark water, the bugs in the woods, and the sticky humidity, the book will give you an authentic insider’s look at life in the South during the summer.

With an interesting storyline, two strong women at the helm, and a surprise ending, “Dying on Edisto” will more than satisfy fans of both series.

For more information about C. Hope Clark’s award-winning work in fiction and non-fiction, please visit www.chopeclark.com