This is the second or third of the series that I have read. I now own all but one and plan to make time to read them. This can be read as a standalone book. These books are great!

This installment deals with under-aged prostitution. The author handles the topic well. I was surprised at the end by who the villain was. I read this book in a few hours- It was that good!

Ms Mulhern does a wonderful job with the characters. Ellison, Grace, Aggie and Detective Jones are not your standard story characters. Her BFF Libba has remained true to herself. I like how they have developed over the course of a few books, showing us that each grows and changes over time.

I was happy that Ellison and Anarchy are moving towards each other.

Julie Mulhern Interview 062018

Then I made coffee. I even whispered to Mr. Coffee,
“Two shootings in one day. It’s a good thing Mother is in Palm Springs.”
He offered me a sympathetic gurgle.
Julie Mulhern, Shadow Dancing, Kindle Loc. 4175

Visiting a psychic is outside the norm for Ellison Russell. Finding bodies is not. Unfortunately, the psychic’s crystal ball says Ellison will soon be surrounded by death. Again.

Drat.

Now there’s a corpse in the front drive, a witchy neighbor ready to turn Ellison and her (not so) little dog into toadstools, and a stripper named Starry Knight occupying the guest room.

How did 1975 go so wrong so quickly?

Ellison must handle Mother (who’s found a body of her own), make up with a certain handsome detective, and catch a killer, or the death surrounding her might be her own.
www.juliemulhernauthor.com/books.html

I’ve always hated when children called their parents “Mother” and “Father.” They are roles not names. It’s like calling your dog, “Dog.” Ellison Russell, Julie Mulhern’s main character, calls her mother, “Mother,” but she calls her father, “Daddy.” I don’t have to tell you how Ellison’s relationship with her mother and father differ. A word says it all. But even if forty-year-old Ellison calls her father, “Daddy,” she doesn’t want or need a paternalistic man, somewhat unique for many women in the 1970s, the era of The Country Club Murder series. She’s a grown up. What she calls her father is more sentiment than need.

In Shadow Dancing, Ellison became my hero. She’s taken it upon herself to help a runaway and, in the process, saves Anarchy’s life. She’s been a strong character since book one, The Deep End, but even though she’s too old to be a flower child, she is ahead of her time, which can be trying when the rest of the world expects the status quo. She has a little problem, though. She talks to her coffee maker, with whom she’s a bit too infatuated. But if her dependence on Mr. Coffee is one of her detriments, at least she can make coffee even if she doesn’t cook or bake.

Shadow Dancing is Julie Mulhern’s seventh book in The Country Club Murder series. Please welcome her to WWK. E. B. Davis

Do you think parental imperiousness is a function of personality or the era?

Frances Walford is a force in the community, in her social circle, and in her daughters’ lives. Part of that forcefulness is pure Frances and part of it comes from the era in which she was raised.

What is an ambiance committee?

An ambiance committee decides the décor for an event. That has not changed since the 70s.

In the seventies, Blue Nun wine was popular. What kind of wine was it? (Chablis? Where did Chablis go?)

Blue Nun was Liebraumilch. I actually had a bottle ordered in (my local wine store doesn’t carry it as a matter of course—imagine that). So, so sweet.

Why did desegregation cause a massive flight from Missouri to Kansas?

Kansas City is a metropolitan area that crosses state lines. On the Missouri side, there’s Kansas City, Missouri. On the Kansas side, there are numerous small cities—Mission Hills, Prairie Village, Mission Woods, Fairway, Leawood, Overland Park, etc…

In the 1970s, Kansas City, Missouri was a more diverse city than the smaller Kansas cities.

With the advent of desegregation in Kansas City, Missouri, many families moved to Kansas where the majority of the citizens were white and the schools were homogenous.

How were Shawnee Mission schools top ranked? The reality must defy the description.

The Shawnee Mission school district is where many Missourians who moved to Kansas sent their children. They had dedicated teachers, engaged parents, and were top-notch in academics. Don’t let the name “Shawnee Mission” fool you, the schools were great.

When Jinx went into rehab and gave up drugs and alcohol, she takes up smoking, which none of her friends complain about. Do you think her friends would be as accepting today? Do you think no tolerance is the best policy?

I asked one of my dear friends, who still smokes, about this and she promises me smokers have become pariahs. In the 70s, smoking was accepted.


Whether 1975 or 2018, kids run away from home with the same result—prostitution and drug addiction. Do we have better policies in place to save these children today than in 1975?

I wish the answer was yes, but the reality is that very little has changed. Children are advertised on on-line forums, children are groomed for exploitation, and predators are real.

How did Aggie go from being a P.I. to being Ellison’s housekeeper?

Aggie’s beloved husband, who held the P.I. license, died after a long bout with cancer. When Al passed, Aggie did not have a license and she needed a change.

What is a ruana?

A ruana is essentially a large, square poncho with a slit down the front.

During the 1970s, many cities had urban blight. When did revitalization of the inner cities start? Big money was involved, right?

In the early 1970s, things were hopping in Kansas City. We had a new airport, we’d won a Super Bowl (and would surely do it again soon), we had an expansion baseball team, and Kemper Arena was built and was the host for hockey, NBA basketball, and the Republican National Convention. Kansas City also built a convention hotel which involved tearing down some seedy business downtown. And yes, big money was involved.

That said, revitalizing a downtown is not the same as revitalizing the inner city. I learned enough about revitalizing a downtown to write a book. I don’t know enough about revitalizing inner cities to answer even this simple question.

If secrecy was such an issue for Bruce, why did he pick Ellison’s car in which to have carnal relations with another woman?

Ellison’s car was parked far from the clubhouse, it wasn’t locked, and Bruce didn’t want to have carnal relations in his own car.

After catching the two in the back of her car, one her parents had given her, one she isn’t wild about anyway—is the car a goner?

Absolutely! Just as soon as she can get around to it.

Although Max, Ellison’s snack and nap-loving Weimaraner, can be a traitor, he really defends and protects not only Grace, Ellison’s teenage daughter, and Ellison, but also the witch next door, Margaret Hamilton (no relation to WWK’s Margaret S. Hamilton), after romping through her house in pursuit of a squirrel and breaking household items. I was surprised that the witch was so forgiving. What changed her mind?
How to answer this without revealing a twist or two? Let’s just say Max redeems himself when the chips are down.
Although Ellison didn’t label the men’s bad behavior when she accepted a blind date from Libba, she knew it was sexist. How were women objectified during this era?

There’s a laundry list. Women were paid less (a lot less). Sexual harassment was rampant. Married women who worked were earning a second-income which was often regarded as supplemental rather than essential. The slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby” was widely recognized (cigarettes again)—if the woman smoking a Virginia Slim had come such a long way, why was the manufacturer still calling her baby? Don’t get me started…

Libba has lousy taste in men. What is she looking for in a man? How can she be Ellison’s best friend?

Libba does have lousy taste in men. She wants someone who is exciting but dependable. Someone who won’t hold her down but won’t wander. Someone who wants stability but not marriage. That’s a hard man to find.

As for being Ellison’s best friend, having bad taste in men has nothing to do with being a good friend. And, when it comes to friendship, Libba is exciting but dependable.

Ellison is unusual for her time. She’s glad Anarchy helped her solve a problem, but she doesn’t want him solving her problems. Why?

Ellison would rather have a partner than a white knight. The disparity in power between a damsel in distress and white knight troubles her. Also, when it comes to knights, all that armor gets in the way of building something real and lasting.

It must be wonderful to make money by doing something that is a heathy and creative outlet. How does painting restore Ellison?

Ellison expresses emotion with paint. Any anger she feels over the way women are treated? On canvas. Any sadness she feels over the latest murder victim? On canvas. Her painting allows her to express things she’d never say out loud.

Each of your books has the same title as a song of the era. How do you choose them?

Finding the right song title is one of my great joys. I was over-the-moon thrilled when I discovered Watching the Detectives was released in 1977. As for Shadow Dancing, what better title for a book with a stripper as an important character?

What’s next for Ellison?

Back Stabbers (an O’Jays title) will be out in October. When Ellison’s stockbroker is murdered (of course she finds the body) she discovers what sexual harassment in the workplace looks like.

As women’s rights have improved, do you think children are better or worse off than in the 1970s?

Growing up in 70s, I enjoyed an idyllic childhood. It was an era of free-range parenting. I roamed the neighborhood with my friends, unfettered by cellphones or the lure of video games.

Most of my friends’ mothers were stay-at-home moms. They mothered with Neosporin, Band-Aids, bologna sandwiches, and homemade popsicles.

Those women were our safety nets.

That was then. This is now. Changes in children’s lives have much more to do with new technologies, social media, video games, and a push to succeed at the expense of playground time than they do with their mothers’ rights.

Classy, cool, and confident, Shadow Dancing is a witty page turner that is not to be missed.

This is one of my favorite series and I’m very thankful to have found it. Julie Mulhern does an amazing job of combining humor and more serious social issues, all while keeping a cozy mystery feel. The book is full of depth and just like past installments of the series and always leaves me wanting more. I stayed up late into the night reading this book, which I always think is a true testament to how enjoyable and addicting a book is. I can’t wait for the next one.

Review: SHADOW DANCING by Julie Mulhern
(Country Club Mystery)

Although almost all the characters in this series are "a cut above," actually several socioeconomic levels above me, the author's wry humour, use of irony, and judicious eliciting of empathy, make the series endearing, despite the cultural disparity. The twisted convolutions of the mystery provided, and protagonist Ellison's "flair" (or fate) for stumbling over corpses, keep the reader in suspense, and Ellison' s rocky "relationship" with Detective Anarchy Jones warms our hearts, as does her protective love for her sixteen-year-old daughter Grace.

Ellison and Grace are drawn into a morass of crime, including underage prostitution and strip clubs, venues Ellison is fiercely determined to keep far, far away from Grace. But murder has a way of striking much too close to home.

1970's socialite Ellison Russell has been enjoying a stretch of weeks in which she has not found any dead bodies. It's a relief for Ellison--and her formidable mother--but a medium has just informed her that the streak may soon be coming to an end. As Ellison would say: drat! Before she knows it, Ellison finds herself smack dab in the middle of a host of trouble, and this time, the whole family is getting involved!

This is by far one of my favorite mystery series. I love reading Julie Mulhern's work and seeing what Ellison gets up to next. I know he's sassy, but Max is always a delight on the page, as well! Shadow Dancing felt slightly darker and more sinister to me than the previous books in this series--but I didn't mind. The story is, simply put, captivating. And, as always, I was delighted to encounter a certain special detective once again.

Finding bodies would certainly be a disconcerting habit; though, if it were me, and finding bodies guaranteed the presence of one Detective Anarchy Jones, well, I might not be so opposed!

Shadow Dancing is the seventh book in Julie Mulhern’s country club murders series. In this rather poignant tale, Ms. Mulhern uses her skills of twisting plot line and well timed humor to explore greed, corruption, and trafficking of young girls.

When a young girl runs out in front of Ellison Russell’s slow moving car, Ellison quickly stops, jumps from the car, and goes to her aid. The girl, who says her name is Leslie Smith, swears she is unhurt and dances around to prove it. Ellison guesses the girl to be no older than 15 and questions why she is not in school but out running around in only a sweater on such a bitterly cold day.

Leslie refuses to allow Ellison to take her home. The mother in Ellison refuses to leave the girl outside in such cold weather. Ellison removes her coat, giving Leslie the coat. The girl insists she will return it so Ellison gives her the address to do so, which the girl puts into the pocket.

The following day, Ellison’s least favorite policeman, Detective Peters, visits her. The young girl has been discovered murdered and Ellison’s information was in her pocket. Thus unfolds the story which ultimately puts both Ellison and her daughter, Grace, in the sights of a most unexpected murderer.

Once more, Julie Mulhern has provided her readers with a fast paced page turner with strong social undertones set in the 1970s. I was thoroughly engaged from the first line until the last. I sincerely recommend this book!

It's February 1975 and Ellison Russell is glad to have not found another dead body this year. She is dragged by her friend Libba into visiting psychic Madame Reyna and then ends up hitting a coatless teenaged girl with her car on the way home. Ellison gives the shivering girl her coat and is shocked when she gets a visit from the police informing her that Leslie was found murdered in a downtown alley. Then Ellison gets a frantic phone call from her mother Frances who has found a box of cremated remains in her hall closet. Who left them there and why? Ellison and her housekeeper Aggie search the obituaries hoping to find the deceased's identity.

Meanwhile, Madame Reyna insists Leslie has been trying to contact Ellison with a message to save her friend Jane aka Starry Knight. Ellison does not want to get involved but the fates align and she ends up meeting Starry at a hotel lobby after a reluctant double date with Libba/Bill and handsome and rich developer Wright.

Unfortunately, Ellison does end up finding a body shot in her house's driveway. And then she starts getting threatening phone calls and strange cars outside her home. Can Detective Anarchy Jones protect her and daughter Grace? Can Ellison help Starry? A 40-year bombshell secret involving Ellison's parents adds another interesting subplot to the story.

This was another fun-filled entertaining read and great entry in the Country Club Murders mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Henery Press with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Visiting a psychic is outside the norm for Ellison Russell. Finding bodies is not. Unfortunately, the psychic’s crystal ball says she’ll soon be surrounded by death. Again.

Drat.

Now there’s a corpse in the front drive, a witchy neighbor ready to turn Ellison and her (not so) little dog into toadstools, and a stripper named Starry Knight occupying the guest room.

How did 1975 go so wrong so quickly?

Ellison must handle Mother (who’s found a body of her own), make up with a certain handsome detective, and catch a killer, or the death surrounding her might be her own.

My Thoughts: Whenever I open the pages of a new Country Club Murder novel, I know I am in for a treat. Like all the previous novels, Shadow Dancing brings Ellison Russell back to us in a delightful way.

As always, Ellison is up to her eyeballs in murder…and when she visits that psychic, she opens another strange door.

Mr. Coffee feels like another character in these books, as Ellison loves her coffee…and her coffee maker. She regularly talks to hers.

Ellison’s mother Frances Walford is her usual judgmental self, but with her own anxieties in this outing. I always enjoy seeing what she will do next.

Let’s not forget Anarchy Jones, who was on the outs with Ellison at the end of the last book. He is back now, and as protective as ever.

1970s Kansas City reminds me of how I enjoyed that era, with no cell phones and the quirky décor of the homes.

How does Ellison get drawn into the lives of girls working in strip clubs? What will she learn about some of the men who frequent those places? What new danger lurks for her? After several murders and a few red herrings, Ellison figures out who is behind the mayhem. Another 5 star read.
***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

Ellison Russell hasn't found a dead body in a couple of months, and hasn't seen Detective Anarchy Jones in the same amount of time either. Once a man is shot dead in her driveway, and her daughter Grace's life is threatened, Ellison and Anarchy work together to protect Grace and discover who's behind the murders plaguing the seedier side of Kansas City. In Shadow Dancing, the 7th book in her Country Club Murders series, author Julie Mulhern has perfectly captured the 1970s, and has crafted a mystery that will keep the reader enthralled from the first page to the last. Very highly recommended!

Shadow Dancing by Julie Mulhern is the 7th book in the Country Club Murders series, and another great book. This book takes place in 1975 in Kansas City Missouri, I love the uniqueness of this setting before everyone had all the modern technology. Ellison Russell is a widow and single mom to teenage daughter Grace. With dead bodies to be investigated the mystery begins. This book is funny, with twists and turns that keep you reading and guessing. I read this book in one day, because I could not put it down. I strongly recommended this book and series for cozy mystery book fans.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Shadow Dancing is the 7th book in the Country Club Murder series and the best out of the 2 that I have read. The story takes place in early part of 1975, opening with Ellison having been dragged to a psychic by her best friend Libba. On her way home from that experience, Ellison hits a girl with her car. Luckily the girl is unhurt, but she is unwilling to take Ellison’s help other than to take the coat that Ellison offers to ward off the bitter cold. Ellison can’t quite let her experience go and then Detective Peter, Anarchy’s partner and not a fan of Ellison’s, arrives at her house to question her about a dead girl who has her name and address.
The psychic comes back into the picture with a message from the dead girl – find a friend named Starry Knight, she is in trouble.
By chance, during a blind date that Libba roped Ellison into, Ellison finds Starry Knight and brings her home. This opens Ellison up to more trouble, putting both her daughter and her life into danger in the long run.
In addition to the focus on the dead girl and Starry Knight, Ellison’s mother and father relationship encounters some problems. The “perfect” marriage and life of Frances is upended when she finds an urn of ashes in her front door closet. Even though there is resolution at the end and a reconciliation at the end of Shadow Dancing, I suspect this storyline will continue in future.
As always, Mr. Coffee is still an important factor in the life of Ellison Russel. Absolutely love this quiet, silent type who is always there for Ellison! Too funny! I am also glad to say that Detective Anarchy returns and their relationship gets back on track.

“Some people found pennies in parking lots. I found bodies. And not just in parking lots. I found bodies everywhere.” Ellison Russell is back, hoping against all hope, that she will not come into contact with a corpse ever again. She has had a break for over eight weeks now, so the Country Club and Ellison are overdue a cadaver or two.
However, this time, it is the normally imperturbable Frances Walford who becomes very perturbed when locating a dead person in her closet. It is a complete mystery who the dead person is, and more particularly why they are in Frances’ closet. A job for Aggie’s private detecting skills.
When not detecting or looking after the Russell household, Aggie is busy with her new man, Mac: “The man was the approximate size of a rhinoceros with the disposition of a Labrador puppy”. Meanwhile, Aggie’s employer, Ellison, is trying to take a break from romance (as well as corpses) following the parting of ways from the magnificent Anarchy Jones. Unfortunately, Libba has not got the message and is determined to set Ellison up with the handsome, but unappealing, Wright. At least Wright is just boring and bored. Libba’s own date, Bill, is outright cringeworthy: ““I bet you’re great at soliciting donations.” Bill combined being patronizing and salacious in just two sentences. It had to be some kind of record … “I think it’s great the way you girls find ways to keep busy,” said Bill. When I declined dessert, the waiter had taken my fork. Too bad. I knew exactly where I’d sink the tines.”
However, all is not lost. As the danger to Ellison and her daughter, Grace, mounts, Anarchy arrives back on the scene: “Looking at the distant expression on Anarchy’s lean face—all harsh planes and remote valleys—and the coldness in his eyes cured the flutters in my stomach. Instead of fluttering, the flutters drooped in a dejected, hang-dog manner”. Can Ellison and Anarchy ever rekindle their mutual attraction? Or is the other man in her life – Mr Coffee – Ellison’s only chance at requited love?
Apart from possible romance, the story races through visits to a medium and ‘conversations’ with the dead, child exploitation and prostitution, dubious real estate practices, family secrets and affairs, threats, danger and – of course – bodies.
I love this series and cannot get enough of it. Long may it continue.

I love the characters in this series, and the mystery is always so interesting. Ms. Mulhern was able to combine an intriguing mystery, a social issue, and humor in this books, along with a little romance and a psychic too! Although this book is set in 1976 it is easy to see how it applies to current life. This was the best book in the series that I have read so far. Can't wait to see what Ellison gets into next.

While Ellison Russell is relieved that her life seems to be getting back to normal - almost - since she's not finding dead bodies every week, it's a strain to realize that she might have blown her relationship with police detective Anarchy Jones and is wondering how to fix it.

But things just aren't meant to be 'normal' for Ellison. Her friend Libba has dragged her to a psychic and Ellison pooh-poohs everything the woman says. Then when she hits a young girl with her car (the girl isn't hurt) but she seems to be freezing so Ellison literally gives her the coat off her back. Vowing to return the coat, Ellison goes home. But then she receives a visit from Anarchy's dreaded partner, Detective Peters, and he wants to know why her name and address were in the girl's possession...because the girl was found dead.

Now the psychic is calling Ellison at home, telling her she must meet with her because the dead girl, Leesa, has a message: She wants her to save a friend of hers named Starry Knight before she, too, is found dead somewhere. It is only by chance - and a blind date set up by Libba - that Ellison sees a young girl in the company of a man she had seen herself earlier when out with her daughter Grace - and not in a good way, either - and confronts them, finally convincing the girl to go with her.

Fortuitously, the girl turns out to be Starry - whose real name is Jane. Ellison takes her home with her, vowing to figure out a way to get her away from the life she's fallen into. But Ellison doesn't know that in doing so, she not only has put herself in danger, but also Grace, and even though it's brought Anarchy back into her life, is it worth the risk to take the chance and lose everything she holds dear?...

We are once again living the the 1970s, long before there were computers, cell phones, no GPS to track people and the technology many have come to take for granted. Because of this, it makes for a very good book indeed, when everyone had a land line and you either used it or drove to someone's home to speak with them.

When Ellison finds that her life might be in danger (again) this time Anarchy feels the need to spend the night (on her sofa) to protect her from the threats. As she's perfectly fine with this, her mother Frances is not. What will the neighbors think? More so, what will Frances think? But she has problems of her own: she's discovered an urn in her closet and she's called upon Ellison to find out to whom it belongs.

So Ellison and Aggie are hitting the local library microfiche to see if they can discover anyone who might have been displaced within the last few months but before they can find out Frances tells Ellison she knows who it is, and the answer rocks Ellison from her head to her toes. The end result puts a serious strain on her parents' lives, and now she's dealing with the fallout from that, too.

While the book is downright serious and sober, there are quite a few humorous moments that you can't help but chuckle at; and I actually found myself wanting to throttle Libba (and can't figure out why Ellison hasn't done so thus far).

It is a tale that is dark as midnight and riveting to boot; it shows us while reality slaps us in the face there are still those that refuse to believe the truth. As the pieces fall together, we see the ugliness in the world that masks itself in normality. Those that appear to be anything but sinister can be very much so. And Ellison, in all her wisdom of finding those bodies and having faced ugliness in the past - including from her own husband - is no stranger to seeing it close to home.

It is a story well-crafted, a narrative both dark and light; one that is always entertaining and magnificently written. As always, Ms. Mulhern draws us into Ellison's world and keeps us happily engrossed in what she has set down on paper and made to become real; her characters are animated and believable; her descriptions are convincing and give us something to look forward to when we first open the book.

In the end, when the killer is found and the story ends, we are left with a satisfying feeling that all is right with the world again (at least for awhile). I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

Shadow Dancing is the seventh installment in Julie Mulhern’s awesome Country Club Murders series. Ms. Mulhern’s writing style is crisp and clear, the storyline is well developed, and the characters are entertaining. The setting for this series is the 1970’s and all the details are right on target from telephones that must be plugged into the wall to work to the shag carpets. The mystery is interesting, and witty statements and humor are dispersed throughout this fast-paced book, which has lots of twists, and turns and enough suspects to keep the reader engaged. Family dynamics play a large part in the story and the sensitive subject of child prostitution is addressed in this book. There are lots of laughs and intrigue in this book and I was kept guessing until the final reveal. I highly recommend this series to readers who enjoy well-crafted, clean mysteries.

Ellison Russell, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, is a widow, an artist, the mother of a teenager daughter, loves Mr. Coffee, and seems to attract murder victims but it’s February and no bodies have appeared so far this year. Libba, Ellison’s best friend, takes her to see Madame Reyna, a physic, who tells her there will be death all around her, that she let the “one” go, but Mr. Right was still coming, and that Henry, her deceased husband, has a message for her about finding death soon and that Grace, their daughter, will be in danger. On the drive home, Ellison’s distracted and hits a teenaged girl who had dashed between two cars and into the street. The girl, who said her name is Leslie Smith, assures her that she’s okay and refuses medical aid or the ride Ellison offers. The girl said she had an argument with her boyfriend and because she doesn’t have a coat or gloves, Ellison gives hers to her, saying she can keep them, but Leslie asks for her address so she can return them. After learning about multiple frantic calls from Frances, her mother, Ellison rushes to her house and learns she found a box of ashes in her hall closet. Frances wants Aggie DeLucci, Ellison’s housekeeper who used to be a private investigator, to figure out whose ashes she found. Detective Peters shows Ellison a photo of the girl she knows as Leslie Smith, she explains their relationship, and he informs her that the young girl was found shot to death in a downtown alley. When Detective Anarchy Jones comes to question Ellison about Leslie, she learns her name is really Leesa Lisowski, a runaway from Chicago, and that she was a prostitute. When danger threatens not only her life, but also Grace’s into harm’s way, Ellison is grateful Anarchy is there to take care of them. In the midst of all the death and threats, Ellison’s mother, Frances, and her daddy, Harrington, reveal a secret they’ve held onto for over forty years.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

A fun and easy read, pulling the reader along with wit and humour.

I haven't read any others in this series, but I certainly shall now!

Our heroine is an unlikely one; a member of her city's 'high society', her only expectation in life was to marry, make babies and sit on committees raising funds for local good causes. Murder and mayhem bring her close to a life she had no idea existed, and a (now dead) cheating husband reveals a hidden, darker side of life in the upper echelons than she had anticipated. Does she go and hide under her bed till it all goes away - not at all. She's smart, determined and not to be messed with - just the sort of woman I would hope to be, but fear I am not!

In this story she learns the horrors of life as a teenage runaway, and is determined not to turn away, despite the risks.

Written with a light touch, with easy to connect with wit and enough references to 1970's life to allow us to draw our own picture of the restrictions she faced, this story will have you turning the pages with ease, long into the night.

What can one say about perfection? 'Shadow Dancing' is funny, serious, suspenseful and romantic. I love the mind of Ellison, I love Anarchy and Grace and Aggie and Max. I like the direction of the series and there how Julie Mulhern leaves open the possibility for so much more in a subtle and intriguing way. Bring it on!!!

The #7 Version of the country club series is one of the best of the series. It takes place in 1975 and Mr. Coffee is still an important factor in the life of Ellison Russel. Her best friend, Libba takes Ellison to a physic who tells she let a good one go and soon she there will be death all around her. Max misbehaves and he had me laughing out loud as he involves her neighbor.
Ellison's Mother is upset by all the bodies Ellison finds and now her Mother is in a panic has had found? She also has secret that will effect Ellison's life. Bodies keep turning up in Ellison's yard bringing Anarchy Jones back in the Ellison's life. Who is Starry Knight? The twists and turns this book will have to turn the pages in order to what is going to have next. Will Ellison finds some answers before she becomes a victim? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Henery Press for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

A solid whodunit and a series which transports you back to the 70's! This is a popular series that is entertaining.

I was worried when I didn't like book 6 that I was tired and over this series. But luckily it was just a fluke and I really enjoyed book 7. I felt like the series was becoming a little formulaic but Mulhern showed that she could add to the series and change it up a little. If she keeps writing this series, I will continue to read it! I know I can always count on it for a light, cozy, charming read.