Angel's Verdict
A Beaufort & Company Mystery, No 4
Mary Stanton

Berkley
February 1, 2011/ ISBN 042523987X
Mystery / Cozy / Paranormal / Angels
Amazon

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks

Attorney Bree is back in her fourth Celestial mystery. The timeline of this one is about the fourth month into Bree’s reopening both Savannah law firms.The author's images of this historic - not to mention mystical city -enriches the storyline.

Fair warning: it's best to read this series in order to get the full impactof Bree's duo worlds. And trust me once you read Defending Angels you will hunt down the rest. Nothing like witnessing the good guys get the bad guysand making it stick - for eternity.

In this mystery, everyone knows the subject of the movie being shot in Savannah is not just about old murder, but the even stranger aftermath. The result continues to haunt both the living and dead. Lucky for Bree, her client is with the living. Veteran actress Justine visits Bree with a request to change her Will - before it's too late. She believes someone or something on the movie set is trying to harm her, maybe even kill her. The obnoxious Limo driver who picks Bree up for a visit to the movie set confirms the story and wants Bree to get involved. On the set, Bree witnesses strange behavior and decides all she sees is a group of actors from “Hollyweird.” But eventually she senses someone in need of celestial representation and ends up with a client for the otherworldly law firm.

Bree spends a lot of time trying to solve the Haydee Quinn murder and comes close to meeting her otherworldly clients on their own turf. Scary stuff.. As usual, Stanton offers enough false leads to make readers doubt their armchair sleuthing skills.

Stanton's writing is right up there with Carolyn Hart and her Baily Ruth series. Stanton has created a world within a world - a supernatural law office on a covert street; angels as employees and protectors, a murderer’s graveyard for those caught, a celestial court in a worldly court house – and that's just for starts. Bree's otherworldly characters are unique. The earthly characters are all too real. You'll appreciate the nice ones and hate the evil ones, such as Bree's ex-boyfriend. Grrr..

Next in series Angel Condemned.

Reviews of first three in series:
Defending Angels   [review 1] [review 2]
Angel's Advocate    [review 1] [review 2]
Avenging Angels     [review]

Reviews of Carolyn Hart’s Bailey Ruth Series: Ghost at Work, 1 || Merry, Merry Ghost, 2 || Ghost in Trouble, 3