| Claudia Rose, handwriting expert,
is back in Written Off, the seventh installment in the Handwriting
Mystery series. She is in the throes of planning her wedding
when her close friend Zebediah needs a favor. Madeleine Maynard,
a colleague of Zebediah’s and also his ex-wife, has been
murdered. Before Madeleine died, Zebediah had promised to finish
the book that she was writing. Claudia agrees to go to Maine
to retrieve the manuscript for her friend.
Sounds pretty easy, but when an unsolved murder is involved
there are always complications and danger. Claudia decides
to stay in Madeleine’s home during the short time that
she is in Maine.
Hayden, one of Madeleine’s students, is living in the
house. Hayden is also a member of Maynard’s Maniacs,
a small group of students hand selected by the professor to
be part of her special project. With the help Zebediah, Claudia
finds not only the missing manuscript but also research papers
that are very disturbing and raise a number of ethical concerns.
Now that she has the manuscript, Claudia has one last interview
to conduct and then she can head back home in time to spend
New Year’s Eve with her fiancé, Joel Jovanic.
Unfortunately, the weather throws a wrench in her plans. While
stuck in Maine, Claudia is exposed to college politics, the
relationships and personalities of each of the members of
Maynard’s Maniacs, and the appearance of an unknown
heir to Madeline’s estate who possesses an updated handwritten
will. Claudia puts her handwriting analysis skills to work
helping the police chief in validating the will. At times
it seems like Madeline’s ghost has returned to her home
but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there are
many secrets hidden in the house to include the answer to
who killed Professor Maynard. Sheila Lowe channels her own
expertise as a forensic handwriting expert with a graduate
degree in Psychology into Claudia Rose. She uses her knowledge
and expertise to give her character credibility, but does
not overwhelm the reader with technical jargon. The solving
of the whodunit is expertly set in the professor’s mansion
and the cabin where her body was found.
Written Off is a fantastic read that is enjoyable
as a standalone but I am sure that, if this is the first taste
of this series, it will not be your last.
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