Frank is a retired cop from Chicago who has moved back to hometown of Spookie to write books. Annie found this quaint little town after her husband was killed. She is a great artist and has started painting ads for some the town's businesses. When a young girl disappears and a mud doll is left in her mailbox, Frank knows it is the same serial killer he had been chasing in Chicago for killings that had taken place there. He figures the killer has followed him to seek revenge for Frank shooting him. As the plot thickens and more people disappear in their little town. It sets everyone on edge. The story keeps getting better as it goes along and is well worth the read. The only thing that I found frustrating was not with the story or the author...it was a with the lack of a good editor. ( )

Artist and widow Abby has been living on the town of Spookie for a year or two now (?). She is good friends with retired detective, Frank. When a local girl who works at the grocery store disappears, the town is on edge. When a little mud clay doll appears, Frank knows it’s a serial killer, whom he thought he’d killed 10 years earlier in Chicago, back to kidnap and murder again. This time in Frank’s small town.

I really liked this. There were parts from the killer’s POV, and honestly, most of the time when that’s included in a book, I don’t find those parts interesting, but that was not the case with this book. I was also engaged in those parts. The book takes place throughout the Fall including Halloween and up to Christmas, so it felt like a “nice” (well, as nice as serial killer mysteries go!) Fall read. Have to admit, though, there was more than once where I said to myself – call the police! Don’t do these things yourself (and that includes “talking to” Frank – he’s not a cop, anymore!). This was the 2nd book in a series, but to be honest, I remember next to nothing of the first book, so I would say you don’t need to read the first one first. ( )

The Prologue for All Things Slip Away filled me in on the highlights of the Spookie Town Murder Mystery Series Book I, Scaps of Paper, and thank goodness. It has been a while since I read it, so I needed a refresher. You could begin reading here, but I am loving this series so much, I would highly recommend beginning at the beginning.

NOW…it’s ten years later and Frank Lester, a Chicago Homicide detective that moved to Spooky town, has found the serial killer he thought he had taken out is back, and he is on the hunt…for revenge.

I read a lot of Young Adult novels, so it is refreshing to be meeting some older characters that carry baggage and memories, and lust does not override their emotions. The romance is a slow burn, but smolders throughout the pages.

There is so much more to the killer than meets the eye. He has his own issues and problems that he cannot overcome. He is driven to seek revenge. The villain is one of those bad guys that can evoke a moment of sympathy for him.

Abigail is Frank’s love interest, but he is not alone in his desire to date her.The sheriff has his eye on her too. Myrtle is a neighbor and she is quite the character. She gave me some laughs and I love some humor with my murder. My heart went out to Laura and Nick, and the rest of their family, two children whose mother is ill and they struggle to even feed themselves. The two kids broke my heart, yet put a smile on my face.

The suspense is ramping up as the pacing takes me to the next event and I am eager, yet apprehensive about HIS and Frank’s next meeting.

Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s has an ability to draw me into the story so deep that I feel like I am walking in Abigail’s shoes, being stalked, feeling like someone is following me, watching me, having me looking over my shoulder, ‘hiding out’, keeping low.

I love that Kathryn can stretch the story, all the while keeping me on edge. It has been months since HE has been seen…life goes on…but, we all know it isn’t over. The tension builds as I wait, wait for the explosion that is about to come.

Well, I guess you can tell how much I loved All Things Slip Away. The story is fabulous and kept me totally engrossed, the characters came to life on the pages through Kathryn’s words and I fell in love with them. The peripheral characters became just as important to me as the main ones. The mystery, yeah, we know who he is, sorta but that does not take away anything from the story.

I highly recommend any of her work. Kathryn has never disappointed me.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of All Things Slip Away by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com ( )

ALL THINGS SLIP AWAY, book #2 in the Spookie Town Mysteries begins with a Prologue, ten years earlier, where police officer Frank Lester is on the trail of a kidnapper and killer, which then brings the reader to the present. And when a teen girl goes missing, we are caught in the middle of a mystery that affects the entire town. Did she run away? Is she lost, or kidnapped, or worse? This isn’t the first time that people have vanished, with no trace. And it won’t be the last.
So, turn on the lights, lock all the doors and snuggle up in a comfy chair to see what is going on in the small town of Spookie. Katheryn Meyer Griffith has written another mystery that will keep you guessing why people are disappearing. We met some of the characters in SCRAPS OF PAPER, the first book in the series, so they seemed like old friends. If you enjoy adventure, suspense, mystery, and a bit of romance, this is the book for you. Happy reading. ( )

A decade ago, Chicago Homicide Detective Frank Lester and his partner Sam Cato tracked a vicious serial kidnapper and murderer who claimed six victims. The criminal, dubbed 'The Mud People Killer' by the press - for the crude mud sculptures he left in the victims' mailboxes after they were taken - specifically targeted Frank Lester by sending him taunting notes about each victim. Frank had shot him on a snowy night during a foot chase, and he believed, had killed him, although a body was never found.

However, the killer wasn't dead. He was only biding his time, waiting to exact his revenge on Frank and everyone he cares about now...ten years later. Frank retired early and is now living back in his hometown of Spookie - a quaint throwback of a close-knit community in the woods - when the killer resurfaces and takes up where he left off. Kidnapping more innocent people and tormenting Frank and everyone he cares about. There must be a way to stop him; and Frank and his artist girlfriend, Abigail Sutton, are determined to find it, before he kills more people, them included.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a very intriguing plot, filled with sympathetic characters that I really came to care about. And, I know this will probably sound strange to everyone, but I even felt some slight compassion for the murderer - not in any way for the horrible things he did - but for the mental anguish he experienced within himself. I give All Things Slip Away by Kathryn Meyer Griffith an A+!

I will say that this book was a little slow for me to get in to at first. Although, that had everything to do with my own reading pace and nothing else. ( )