| Death's a Beach: a Sister Cecile Mystery by Winona | | | | death is not Barclay himself but Cecile's pre-teen |
| Sullivan | | | | charge, Leonie, who unwittingly was involved in the |
| Ivy Books, 0804115680, $2.95 | | | | man's demise. Leonie's secret is not completely |
| Sister Cecile Buddenbrooks is no ordinary nun, at | | | | sealed, however, and soon Cecile's perogative |
| least not the kind any survivor of Catholic school (like | | | | changes from finding documents to protecting Leonie |
| myself) would recognize. An heiress with a private | | | | from a dark underworld of questionable business |
| investigator's license (see previous mysteries A | | | | practices, a admirer of Barclay's bent on revenge, |
| Sudden Death at the Norfolk Cafe and Dead South | | | | and a bigoted police officer who makes Archie |
| for the backstory on this), Sister Cecile supplements | | | | Bunker look like Santa Claus. |
| the income of the Miami retirement home for Catholic | | | | By mystery series standards, the Sister Cecile stories |
| religious with money earned from her detective | | | | are relatively new (Saving Death, however, was just |
| work. In Death's a Beach, a plum assignment is | | | | released in early 2000), and all are fresh and |
| handed to her as a local banking concerns hires the | | | | entertaining reads. Even the change in locales from |
| nun to look into the mysterious death of one of their | | | | Boston to Miami in Dead South does little to dull |
| own and locate some important documents last seen | | | | Cecile's penchant for adventure and the charm of her |
| on his person. | | | | sidekicks, young Leonie and wise Sister Raphael. Only |
| For all her contacts and smarts, however, Cecile is | | | | in fiction can a nun tool around in a Jaguar or a Ferrari |
| unaware that the prime suspect in Elliot Barclay's | | | | and be believable. |