Thistle and Twigg (Thistle & Twigg #1) by Mary Saums

Thistle and Twigg by Mary Saums
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first time Jane Thistle came to Tullulah, Alabama, she knew that she’d return one day. There’d been a connection to the place right from the start, like she belonged (unlike all the places she’d been as a career military officer’s wife – always a temporary situation.) So when her husband passed away, she sold up and relocated to the outskirts of the small town in an old house near a wildlife preserve.

She met her first friend, fellow widow Phoebe Twigg, while buying ammunition for her handgun and shotgun, and met her closest neighbor, Cal Prewitt, that same day when he fired a warning shot over the hood of the car she was traveling in up his driveway. However, the relationship with Cal slowly ironed its way out and they, too, became good friends. When Jane and Phoebe find the dead body of an unidentified young man on Cal’s property, the ladies team up to prove Cal’s innocence, and find themselves a target of the killer as well.

This is the first book in the Thistle & Twigg Mystery series, and it really was a delightful story. It is a quiet, gentle read at first but is laugh-out-loud funny much to do with the way the author alternates the point-of-view between the two ladies for some of the same scenes. Jane’s reserved British manner matched up with Phoebe’s homespun, southern charm is very entertaining. I have lived in the South most of my life and some of Phoebe’s turns of phrase surprised even me. If I had been reading an eBook version I would have worn out the highlight function saving some of the funny sayings. The mystery and resolution was solid, but it is really the 60+ year old heroines that shine. There is some interesting paranormal activity in the storyline but it is pretty minimal. Jane can see ghosts but sightings are few and far between. There is some assistance in advancing the story from the other side. I recommend this book to cozy mystery readers that enjoy more mature protagonists and don’t mind the presence of paranormal elements.

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