The second in the "Coroners's Daughter" series finds Dr. Emily Hartford, the daughter of the Freeport, Michigan, medical examiner called to examine the exhumed bones of a girl who went missing 12 years earlier. The suspected killer? Emily's former flame Nick Larson, now the Sheriff of Freeport.
Although this is a very interesting novel in which the concept of the discovery of a missing child’s remains giving closure to the family is a cogent one in today’s society, the main character’s standing may drop a couple of pegs in the reader’s estimation. Emily seems to have a tendency to react too quickly ... There are several subplots to distract the reader, also, involving life-changing choices Emily must make, proving that a coroner has a life other than doing autopsies, and plenty of decisions to make about that life. Though the discovery of James VanDerMuellen’s whereabouts is explained and dismissed in a few sentences, this revelation is a twist no one will expect, and becomes the perfect ending to a case that becomes more complicated as each fact is revealed.
... middling ... Unfortunately, Emily’s problems define her character, not her response to those problems. Take them away, and she’s a complete zero. This entry reads like a cozy with autopsies, minus the sense of fun.
