The Wandering Soul Murders

Gail Bowen is wonderful at evoking emotion. Even knowing the general plotline, each murder still had me feeling shocked and empathetic towards various characters. The plot is tight and moves along at a good pace. As in all of the other novels in this series, the characters are likeable and very 'human'.

The Wandering Soul Murders by Gail Bowen M & S Paperback 1992This is my first Gail Bowen mystery with Joanne Kilbourn. The finding of a dead young girl in a garbage can next to Joanne's daughter's store is followed shortly by the apparent suicide her son's girlfriend (Christy). The two victims had known each other and the police are wondering what they could have known that would lead to their deaths. Joanne is drawn in by her feelings of guilt that she had not been very nice to her potential daughter-in-law. The death of a third young girl with a tattoo identical to one that Christy had, forces Joanne to try and find what is happening. This leads her into some very treacherous waters and her personal safety is threatened. The kidnaping of her five-year-old-adopted daughter, sends her rushing to rescue her daughter and in the end to solve the murders of young women and bring some very despicable people to justice.The principal characters are well drawn and the family life of the widowed Joanne is very realistic. Joanne and her children are thoroughly modern in their relationships and it will be interesting to see if these relationships continue through the other books in the series. By and large a good read.