In Death of a Scavenger by Karin Kaufman, Rachel Stowe and her friend Holly, baker of the best cream puffs in Colorado, are taking part in Juniper Grove’s annual October Scavenger Hunt when they see the participants all racing in one direction. Following everyone, the pair sees a crowd surrounding the stabbed body of Maureen Nicholson, possibly the meanest woman in Juniper Grove. When Police Chief Gilroy examines everyone’s pockets and bags, he finds a bloody flash drive in the pocket of Holly’s bag. The next day Holly finds that a boy has spray painted the word “Murderer” on the window of her bakery. When Rachel learns that the children are bullying Holly’s son because they see his mother as a murderer, something they learned from their parents, Rachel determines to solve the crime to clear Holly’s name.
Rachel spends her time trying to locate motives of potential murderers in order to clear Holly’s reputation. Death of a Scavenger follows many interesting paths as Rachel does her investigation. The murder is performed creatively, and the incidents that Rachel uncovers that enraged Maureen and caused her to take revenge on others around her are very amusing. I enjoyed the journey of Rachel’s as she travels her path of enlightenment.
The characters in this book are well- drawn, making us feel that we know each one. Through Rachel’s eyes, we connect with everyone. We care for Holly’s wellbeing and are happy to be also reunited with Julia, Rachel’s 60- something neighbor. We also get to meet a new neighbor, Gina Peeler, a handicapped woman who spends her time on her porch observing the community around her and thus is able to give insight into what is going on. The suspects also have loads of personality, such as Jenny Hanniford, a vegetarian who threw dishes at Maureen when the latter served a beef stew to Jenny.
Becky Doughty performs the audio version of this book. She has a gentle, soothing voice that suits the character of Rachel, who gives a first person narrative of the book. Doughty uses good voices for each character and effective inflections and emotion. I appreciated the performance that Doughty gives.
I had a great experience revisiting Juniper Grove with Rachel in Death of a Scavenger. The story was fun, as were the characters. I also appreciated that the description specified that the book is totally clean, with “no foul language, sex, gore, or graphic scenes of any kind.” I look forward to the next book’s being released on audio and will eagerly visit Juniper Grove again. I give the book five stars.
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