Note to would-be killers: It is not wise to commit a murder in a town filled with psychics.
(But it does make for a great cozy mystery!)

This book was fun to read! The characters are eccentric. The town and its citizens are strange yet endearing. The humor is awesome. And, the murder mystery is engaging. Perfect cozy mystery!
This is the first book by Dawn Eastman that I've read. I will definitely be reading more!

Plot basics: Crystal Haven, MI is a tourist town catering to those looking for psychic readings, seances, tarot readings and other occult fare. The Fortune family is well known in town. Rose offers tarot readings and Vi is a pet psychic. Rose's daughter, Clyde (short for Clytemnestra) has returned to town following a tragic incident. She isn't sure whether she will return to her job as a cop in Ann Arbor, or stay in Crystal Haven. Her family is encouraging her to hone her psychic abilities that she has spent years suppressing. She balks at the idea and becomes a dog walker rather than a psychic-for-hire. She changes her mind when a local psychic is murdered. Clyde has to use both her skills as a cop, and a psychic to discover the killer's identity before more Crystal Haven residents die.

Clyde's family and most of the characters in the book were outrageously kooky and fun. At one point, they are trying to investigate a murder suspect without alerting a local cop to their activities. So they are all taking turns following the suspect while hiding behind trees, running around corners, and pretending to be innocent by-standers just so the officer won't suspect they are investigating anything. The more they try to be stealthy the more obvious it is what they are doing. So funny! :)

Such a fun read! The characters' antics kept me smiling and engaged in the story just as much as the mystery portions of the plot. A great blend of mystery and humor.

Pall in the Family was Dawn Eastman's debut novel. There are now 4 books in the Family Fortune Mystery series. I can't wait to read more of the series!! This first book was a real hoot!! ( )

Clyde Fortunehas returned home to Crystal Haven, MIchigan after several years as a policeman in Ann Arbor. She lives with her folks and Aunt Vi in her grandmother’s home. Crystal Haven is not the everyday tourist destination on the Lake Michigan shore. It is a town of psychics. Clyde has some abilities, but prefers not to use them, as her abilities always seem to foretell bad things in the future. Clyde and her nephew Seth run a dog walking business. One morning she and Seth went to pick up her client Tuffy, but instead they found Tuffy’s owner dead in the kitchen. Upon calling the police, Clyde and her nephew continued taking care of the dogs. However, the Sheriff department’s homicide detective was not pleased that they had left the scene of the crime. Clyde should have known better. To make things worse, the detective was Clyde’s old boyfriend Mac. Clyde’s family was determined to solve the crime with or without Clyde’s professional as well as psychic help. A nice bunch of twists and turn kept the story ver readable. Although a few of the characters, I found to be quite annoying, especially Clyde’s Aunt Vi. ( )

Pall In The Family is the first book in the A Family Fortune Mystery series.

Clyde Fortune has returned to her childhood home in Crystal Haven while of leave from the Ann Arbor Police. Crystal Haven is a haven for psychic and her mother, Rose, and her Aunt Vi are hoping that she will learn to use her psychic talents while there. Rose is Tarot card reader and Aunt Vi is a pet psychic. Also, Clyde's nephew, Seth, is spending his summer vacation with the family.

Clyde and Seth are pet walkers and they start their day walking their regulars and they head over to Sara's to pick up, Tuffy, her shih Tzu, but something is noticeably wrong as he is not flinging himself against the door. When Clyde enters the kichen she sees Tuffy cowering under a table and Sara dead from a bullet wound. Later when Clyde heads over to interview Tish, whose expertise is séances, as she knocks on the door she hears a gunshot and the backdoor slam shut. Tish dies and is unable to give any clues to whom might have murdered her.

Clyde, Rose or Aunt Vi psychic skills can't tell them who the murder might be, but they are pretty sure who it isn't. Then when there is a threat to Clyde's life, the heat is on to find the killer.

Readers don't need to be believers in psychic powers to enjoy this book. I enjoyed Aunt Vi's attempt to communicate with dogs and cats and liked that Seth has powers of communicating with dogs.

Mac, the detective working the case has very little belief in the powers that the Fortune family has, and that was the problem between Clyde and Mac a few years back. But now that they are both back in town, maybe they can work on these feeling.

Enjoyable story and a lot of interesting characters. Will be watching for the second book in the series. ( )

A very good, well-written first in what could be an excellent new series. This is not a quick, light read. It's not dark or depressing, but there's a maturity to the writing that you don't find in a lot of cozies, especially the paranormal ones. That's not a criticism of cozies - I'm a huge fan - but this book feels like it's a step above. The writing, the character building, the plot, all felt more on the level with Barbara Michaels, or Earlene Fowler (maybe?). I felt like this book took longer to read than most of equal length, even though the story kept me invested.

The characters in this book are well-written, solid and real. There are no caricatures here. I'll admit I really don't like Vi, but she's real - she reminds me in many ways of some of my own relatives. Clyde's mom is a nag and Clyde is trying to power through a very traumatic event. The most humorous element of the book are the dogs, Baxter and Tuffy, with a few scenes that had me giggling a bit. Oh, and the deputy, Tom and his unfortunate lack of grace definitely lent itself to moments of levity. Mac is a love interest you can get behind and I love the background to their story. If the author continues to have Clyde fight against her 'gifts' I'll not continue reading the series, but her qualms are justified in the short term.

Having sold the book up, I'll now admit I guessed the killer pretty early on in the book but I'll still argue the plot was very well done. Old crimes and new, plenty of suspects and a little bit of misdirection. While I knew who the killer was, I didn't begin to guess at the motivation until the end - I totally had that part wrong, so no enjoyment was lost to my early guess.

I'm really looking forward to the next book; I hope it will come sooner rather than later. ( )

A very good start for a new series. Ready for more. ( )