Leaving Lottawatah by Evelyn David is the 11th book in the “Brianna Sullivan” mystery series. Publisher: Evelyn David, March 2014

Things are messy in Paradise. The happily engaged couple of Brianna Sullivan and Cooper Jackson are anything but. Angry words set Brianna and Leon, her bulldog companion, off on a road trip, but it’s hard to run away from home if everyone wants to come with you. Before she can leave town, Brianna is unexpectedly joined on her travels by Sassy Jackson, her maybe ex-future mother-in-law, plus Beverly Heyman and daughter Sophia, both still grieving over a death in the family. Destination: A Psychic convention in America’s most haunted hotel. But they haven’t reached their destination before Brianna is confronted by two ghosts demanding help in capturing the serial killer who murdered them decades earlier. Even more worrisome, another young woman has gone missing. It’s up to Brianna and her road crew to stop the serial killer from striking again. Brianna has hard questions for the spirits surrounding her, and for herself. Does she want to marry Cooper? Is it time to hit the open road again and leave Lottawatah behind? Or will the ghosts of her past continue to haunt her wherever she goes?

I love this series, which continues to delight and charm me in the way the story is presented. The tone is most comfortable and the drama and action is non-stop from the first line to the final scene. The author knows how to pull you in with the eccentrically quirky and lovable cast and the dynamically astute conversations, which at times gave me some chuckles. It was fun watching Brianna interact with Sassy and Sally, two people at opposite ends of the age spectrum. The mystery was good with a surprising twist that I didn’t see coming, but a good one as the both the case and the journey Brianna embarked on ended as it should. Not to exclude Leon, but he did good. I really enjoyed Leaving Lottawatah and I can’t wait to see where we are headed next with Brianna, Cooper and the gang.