Loved the book, where the city of Savannah is a character that lives, breathes, and slowly reveals secrets long-buried.

Emma Lynn and her 2 best friends for the last 40-plus years dig deep into the past to find the truth about a woman who was silenced and made to disappear without a trace.

The author has a fantastic voice, and the book is full of wit, charm, and laugh out loud moments. This author is definitely at the top of my favorites list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sapelo Publishing for granting me the pleasure of reading and reviewing this book.

INTENSE Drama with Sass.
I really liked this story that had sassy southern "charm" and sarcasm. Emma Lynn was charming, astute, and she noticed things that others didn't. She began to have some prophetic dreams of Delilah that surprise Emma !. That stirred her even more to dig for the truth.
Emma Lynn, the southern way of saying names down there reminded me of what happens when my husband goes with me "down south." That's right, I'm a Northerner. But I love the south. I just don't want my name spoken with my middle name included. That's why family don't know what it is. Lol.
Emma pulls in her sassy, talented friend Margaret, who works in the library and knows how to pull the very information that they need. She's direct and blunt but also caring when it comes to Emma and Graham. Emma's other friend, Graham is Super-smart and compassionate and very easy to like. I almost made the title of this review- "Emma, friends & Murder to be solved." Because they do. With cunning, cleverness and humor. I loved that They weren't going to let the Vanishing of Delilah Grace Hart, go quietly into the night.
Delilah Hart and her daughter Eva Hart Simmons, were such sad people in the story. Eva's epileptic son was also stolen from because of all of this. Stolen from and attempts to erase all of them as though they never lived, loved or thrived in any ways at all. They were poor but that's no excuse to what they did to them ! To steal land from them to prosper from it and to kill to keep it ! And the sleuths and Eva just aren't going to put up with it even when things get tough and they do !
Smug, Mason Blake was designed for me to hate and I did ! Him and those who helped him ! There were several surprises about that and I loved that too. They were being watched and being sent secret notes and warning. Short but threatening... saying in one form or another, "Stop digging."
On a finally note, although they were SO MANY witty things spoken and written in this story, but I do have a favorite. When hysterically but oh so stern, direct, proper, caring Margaret had this said about her by Emma. "If this mysterious messenger thought a few cryptic notes would undo us, he really, really should've read Margaret's Yelp review" I almost fell down laughing ! Had to read it over a few times and giggle.!
There is also a mention of the first book where this group first solved a murder, it was free so I got it. It's called "Buried Beneath the Ivy" by Veronica Mixon."
I read this book through Netgalley. And I'm glad that I did.

I tried, but just couldn't get into this one... The writing just didn't hold my attention. I was looking for a light, easy, cozy mystery that I would read quickly but somehow never connected to characters ore plot. This wasn't a good fit for me.

Great start to a new series but wasn’t really my style. I live in Savannah so I always love to read stories set here.

This is a solid first book in the series. I have lived in Savannah for many years and still live quite close to the city. I always enjoy books set in this beautiful locale. I haven't met anyone in Savannah that speaks like these characters, but this is fiction, so why not exaggerate and have a little fun? This feels like a fun beach read. I recommend this book for lovers of beach reads, cozy mysteries, Southern fiction, or readers interested in characters that are "retired but not expired." The characters are lively, the friendships are refreshing, and the plot unravels perfectly.

Ghostwriter Emma Lynn is 63, recently widowed, and isn't sure whether to keep the house in Atlanta or return to Savannah and live in her mother's home (which will need LOTS of work). While in Savannah she reconnects with two childhood friends, smartsy librarian, Margaret, and the probably on-spectrum kind-hearted Graham and together they decided to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of her mother's best friend, Delilah, 50 years ago. Then they came up against some really threatening goons. And worse. Great read.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley.
#BeyondtheShadowsASavannahSleuthingMystery by @veronicamixonbooks #SavannahSleuthsBk1 @booksgosocialgroup @ibpalovesindies #NetGalley #goodreads #bookbub #storygraph #threats
#cozymystery #missingperson #historicalmystery #oldfriends #investigation #secrets #lies

A promising start to a new series. Veronica Mixon knows how to write a cozy mystery with southern charm. This a is a quick read and a perfect for the summer.

The characters were likable, but I did find the hints of supernatural a bit cliche. I am looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

They might be retired but they are not expired. A perfect book for a lazy summer day. Emma Whitmore returns to her childhood home in Savannah to close out her beloved grandmother's estate whose death has followed shortly after the death of Emma's husband. While cleaning out her grandmother's attic, Emma Lynn discovers clues to the 50 year old disappearance of her grandmother's best friend, Delilah. It appears Delilah might not have mysteriously disappeared as believed. Was she murdered? If so, where is her body? Why would she have been murdered and by whom? Emma seeks out the help of her two childhood friends, the spunky librarian, Margaret and the brilliant but kind-hearted Graham to dive into what really happened to Delilah. Filled with tons of Southern charm, sassy characters and enough intrigue to keep it interesting, Beyond the Shadows is a fun read. The story did leave some unanswered questions as well as set the stage for more mysteries for the trio to tackle in the future. I did enjoy the relationship between the characters, the author's descriptive and "Southern" writing style and the glimpse of the seedy side of historical Savannah. My favorite aspect was the point that just because your body has slowed down with age doesn't mean your brain has done so. I look forward to the next book in the series and the return of this dynamic trio. Thank you Veronica Mixon and Netgalley for the opportunity to review the first book in your new series!

This book was fantastic: witty, eloquent, carefully written. I enjoyed reading this book as it painted the picture for me of being in Savannah right along the characters. Grateful to have been able to enjoy the book for free courtesy of NetGalley.

Emma returns to her childhood home in Savannah after her husband's death. She has decisions to make. Does she keep the house in Atlanta or return to Savannah and live in her mother's home which will need lots of work. Her best friends from school are still in Savannah. What she didn't expect was to find herself involved in an old mystery. Where did Delilah, Emma's mother's best friend. The threesome actually have some experience in mysteries as they solved a case together while in high school. They use their varied strengths to go back in time and solve this case. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. #netgalley

oh i love coming across books like this. they are filled with such vibrancy and charm. we all talk about the elderly characters when done well in books dont we. well finally some of them are getting their pride of places in the main roles. and its a slow change but i am seeing more of the characters who arent 20 year olds in some books recently. i didnt realise how much of an issue it was until i wasn't 20 anymore! (long time ago now)and you just see how much you miss seeing people who resemble you. and this has sooooo many wider issues in our society that i wont get in my soap box about now.
although i dont think we could all be quite as class as this old lady. and nor would i want to be because otherwise i wouldn't get so much joy out of reading about her.
this gorgeous book bring us Emma. she is 63 now and ready to live out her retirement years in Savannah. but she isnt done with adventures just yet. because something that has stuck with her since she was a child was that of a missing person called Delilah. she was a friend of her own grandmother and throughout the book this brings such comfort and light to the book with the memories she has of this woman. and also how what she gave and taught her are still there giving her the smarts and wit to do what she needs to do.
so along with her chums she vows to solve it,and lets just say there is some detecting to do here as more skeletons fall out the closets.
this is a brilliant book. i loved it. the characters, the plot, the whole things just warmed me up but kept me captivated with the tension that was balanced just right with all the other emotions the books hands over to us.

This is a good story featuring Emma who is trying to solve an old murder with the help of her friends.
Their tactics to solving the mystery were good and it was fun to read the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Cold case mystery. Interesting characters. Clever method of solving the murder. So many words! Lots of Southern expressions. A wide variety of pithy sayings. I wish I had highlighted some of my favorites. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy. My review is voluntary.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
This is such a lovely read, I enjoyed it immensely. The protagonist, Emma Lynn, is in her 60's, which is a welcome change, is back.in Savannah, where she and 2 old friends
are trying to solve a secret, despite someone trying very hard to put a stop to them.
It's also a well written book, giving you a real feel for Savannah and full.of sentences that are certain to make you smile.
Read this book, it will.make you feel good!

“Beyond The Shadows” by Veronica Mixon is a 231-page fictional psychological thriller released this year and is the first book among six books of the Savannah Sleuth series. The paperback costs $15.99, and the ebook costs $5.99. Veronica Mixon, who is a renowned Amazon chart-topping author with a penchant for suspense and mystery in her writings, is currently living in Georgia, United States, and has a catalog of books on her author page https://veronicamixon.com/.

This book centers on the protagonist Emma Lynn, a 63-year-old retired lady living in her late granny’s cottage in Savannah, Georgia. She loves her town and prides herself on being a part of it, having lived there all her life. One day, being a ghostwriter with a penchant for conspiracy theories, she sets it upon herself to solve the hidden mystery of the disappearance of a former family friend, Delilah Hart. Together with her best friend Margaret and neighbor Graham, they plan to solve this decades-old mystery. It turns out that someone is not too happy with the trio’s investigations, and seeks to be a stumbling block on their path. Together, the trio, who call themselves the Savannah Sleuths, set off to reveal the skeleton in the closet and pacify Delilah’s legacy, no matter the cost.

Will the Savannah Sleuths solve this old mystery? What awaits them in their investigation? Find out in this incredible book!

I love the author’s portrayal of Emma Lynn’s personality in this book. Emma is an affectionate, history-oriented woman with a deep sense of pride for her family, friends, and townspeople. Her deep-seated concern for Delilah’s legacy even after all these decades, and her determination to solve the mystery in order to pacify herself, proves this. She is also very shrewd and intelligent, with an acute sense of perception, the latter which she sometimes refers to as her subconsciousness. Her years as a ghostwriter have sharpened her abilities as a detective and vice versa, and the other Savannah Sleuths are proud to have her in their team. To add to her detail-oriented traits and desire to unravel secrets, she also has an incredible retentive memory and can remember statements her granny gave her when she was nine years old. As Emma Lynn tells her clients, “If you’ve got secrets you don’t want told, I’m not your ghostwriter.”

I do not have any reason to dislike this book. Everyone deserves an Emma Lynn in their lives. Her personality is the very example of a person willing to sanctify the legacies of loved ones, whether they are dead or alive. She is the shrewd grandmother, neighbor, friend, and compatriot who never lets go of those she considers dear to her, and, with dedication, perseverance and the right team, she can find the needle in the haystack. I commend the author for her outstanding efforts and wish her to continue writing such amazing books.

I did not find any typographical mistakes or any grammatical errors, because this book is excellently and thoroughly edited. I, Michael Lartey the reviewer, find this book to be thoroughly mind-stimulating and satisfactory as well as it being among my favorite genres. Its context and style possess emotional intensity, intrigue, and influence. Because of this, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I recommend this book to lovers of pure fiction, psychological thrillers and historical events.