The Wages of Sin (Ozarks Mystery, #3)

by Nancy Allen

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Although The Wages of Sin is the third book in Nancy Allen's Ozarks Mysteries series, it is the first one I have read. I was a little worried about this as I started to read it, but my fears were soon allayed and the book stood up by itself without the need to have read the previous two. Having said that, however, at some point I'd love to go back and read the first two.

The book commences with the unsavoury murder of a pregnant woman by her boyfriend and from there the story slowly opens up and we are introduced to a world that many of us know exists, but have had none or very little experience of. Unfortunately, the murder is witnessed by the six-year old daughter, Ivy, of the woman who is killed. Sadly, for this young girl there is also someone else present - a fiend of the murderer, who also happens to be a former lover of the murder victim.

The book centres around the ensuing court case and is a fascinating study of both the details of such a trial and life in a small town in the Ozarks. The main character is Elsie Arnold, a no-nonsense lawyer working for the Prosecutor's office. She is surrounded by a well-developed cast of characters, who all add something different and unique to the story as it unfolds.

As the court case headed towards its conclusion there were many interesting twists and turns, along with interesting developments, many of which centred around the little girls, Ivy. It was difficult not to feel sorry for this girl, who, in her short life so far, had experienced too hard a life and seen too much of the dark side of humanity for one so young. She is caught in the middle of those who want her to speak and those who want her to be quiet. If she doesn't speak the case could fall apart, but if she does speak her testimony could lead to at least one powerful person beyond the person on trial.

I don't want to give too much away, so that's all I want to reveal about the story. The Wages of Sin is a well-written book, with a number of multi-dimensional characters, who interact/intersect with each other in very believable ways. It's not a fast-paced book, but it moves along at a pace that keeps you interested. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would and i'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good court-case story.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.