Third in the Tally Whyte series (Body Parts, The Dead Stone) has a tumultuous personal beginning for the head of the Massachusetts Grief Assistance Program (MGAP.) Her beloved three-legged best friend, Penny, is being tested for what may be cancer. She is conflicted about returning to her lover in Maine, and taking a job opportunity there. Her foster mother, Veda Barrow -- who is also her boss and Chief Medical Examiner -- is in the hospital with what seems to be the flu.

Tally has a lot on her plate but if that isn’t enough, someone has broken into the morgue and dropped off a murdered little girl in the decomp room.

The killer leaves a only one clue: a mysterious message written on the palm of the little girl: “Sins of the Father.” When Tally visits the child, the killer whacks her on the head, leaving her out cold on the floor…only to awaken to find yet another clue: a little stuffed lamb is left with the child. The “Grief Shop” is a secure facility and everyone falls under suspicion, including Tally herself. Already shredding at the edges from job stress and emotional turmoil, Tally’s foundation is rocked to its core with the thought of one of her co-workers being a murderer.

That would be enough mystery to fill a novel by itself, but when the child is identified and returned to her parents for burial, it is discovered another child staying with the family has been kidnapped. Yet another child is found dead with the same odd message in her palm.

Given her job, Tally is a compassionate and convincing heroine. Instead of breaking under the strain of personal and professional events, she is decisive and strong in adversity. The important secondary characters are far more fine-tuned than the previous installments, and the numerous subplots are compelling. Though most of them are tied up neatly at the end there are enough questions left for the next in the series, including the puzzle of her unresolved love life and how she will react to devastating loss.

With such an absorbing plot, be prepared to finish this one in one shot.
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Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Leisure Books (August 29, 2006)
ISBN: 0843957433
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