Mixed Up with Murder by Susan C. Shea is the third book in the “Dani O’Rourke“ mystery series. Publisher: Reputation Books, March 2016

Dani’s at it again. Visiting a small New England town in the height of spring to consult with a college that’s about to receive a humungous gift of money and art, she’s caught off guard by the drowning of the man overseeing the due diligence on the donor and his background. Everyone’s sad but Dani – and her friends back in San Francisco – are too aware of her past brushes with murder to take this tragedy at face value. When she meets the wolfish venture capitalist making the gift, she’s uneasy. Who is Vincent Margoletti and why is he so anxious to give a valuable art collection away?

The business of academia and fundraising has reared its ugly head when murder takes center stage and once again Dani gets caught up in the middle with the consulting job she was asked to do. What happened next is a fast-paced, non-stop action tome that had me on my toes as I couldn’t put this book down until I knew how this will all end. The author kept me busy following along as the plot thickened to a crescendo that had me biting my nails as the heroine found herself in a situation that even I didn’t know how she would get out. Peppered with suspects that could have been responsible, the author kept teasing me by changing direction which enhanced the narrative. Dani is a strong character and I like her dogged pursuit of justice. With a great cast of characters and engaging conversation (I especially love Dani’s internal dialogue) and a small town-setting, this was a terrific read and I look forward to knowing the aftermath of Dani’s personal life.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher.