Electric Blue by Nancy Bush

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Electric Blue (2006) by Nancy Bush is the second book in the Jane Kelly series, and another fun read. We first met Jane in Candy Apple Red, which I reviewed back in June. Jane has teamed up with her friend and mentor Dwayne, who is a private detective and thinks Jane's talents could make her successful as an investigator.

As the story opens Jane is contacted by Jasper (Jazz) Purcell, who needs her help. He is part of the town's prominent and wealthy (and crazy) Purcell family. He wants Jane to meet his grandmother, who seems troubled. As Jane meets the entire clan she realizes that there is a lot of family drama, tension, and secrets. Several people, including Jazz, have gorgeous blue eyes--hence, the title. Jane reluctantly agrees to become a companion of sorts for the grandmother, so she starts to spend more time at the big Purcell mansion. As Jane gets closer to Jazz and his grandmother, she realizes that something very terrible happened a long time ago, and that it is still impacting the family.

Then she learns that one of the secrets has to do with the now dead daughter--Jasper's mother--who was institutionalized as a teenager. More recently, Jazz and his son were involved in a serious car accident that may not have been all that accidental, and Jazz suffered some short term memory loss. One of his aunts, Camilia, is devastated that her husband has not only left her, but had two children and named them after flowers, which is a Purcell tradition.

Things get stranger when the grandmother disappears and Jane decides to go check out the institution, and starts to unravel what really happened so many years ago. However, later on, a long lost sister named Violet arrives, and the family secrets start to spill out.

You can find Electric Blue in the mystery section of the Waterloo Public Library.

Curious about the book? You can read an excerpt at the author's website.