And They Danced

Texas Ranger Crock Ward is back on the job after suffering a gunshot wound. He's assigned to a cold case – the death under mysterious circumstances of Esme Green twenty-some years ago. Her husband Dan, a TCU professor, recently died in the same hotel – indeed, the same room – where his wife died, and that's just a little too coincidental. Crock is tasked with finding out whether Esme's death was murder, and if so, who killed her.

The course of Crock's investigation leads him to Dr. Lazaro “Laz” Corona, also a TCU professor and a paranormal researcher. He's hoping Laz can help with the paranormal side of the investigation, maybe get in touch with the spirits of the deceased professor and his wife. But Laz isn't the only Corona with some investigative chops. His twin sister Tess, recently discharged from the military, is back home and looking for work. She's the twin with legit psychic powers, and in spite of a difficult experience in her past, she's determined to help with this investigation.

This book, y'all! It is chock full of things I love. It's a mystery and police fiction and a paranormal thriller with some pretty serious sparks of potential romance.

There's plenty of tension to keep the story moving along. Crock, Laz, and Tss fined themselves in danger more than once, and the amount of physical damage that can be caused by incorporeal entities is surprisingly high. Gram, Laz and Tess's grandmother, is thankfully at the ready to tend to injuries both physical and spiritual with her sarcasm and her (often foul-tasting) remedies.

The Corona family is wonderfully weird. Laz and Tess love each other and will defend each other from all external threats, but they can sure throw down with each other. Gram is intelligent and quirky and quick to do what she must to protect her family. Sometimes that looks a little bizarre to non-family members. Three-year-old Tila, Laz's daughter, is sassy and stubborn as only a three-year-old girl can be. Crock is the straight man to a lot of Corona shenanigans, and I can imagine him trying so, so hard to maintain his composure sometimes.

There are parts that are absolutely bust-a-gut funny. When Crock comes to the Corona residence looking for Laz, Tila at her finest is his introduction to the family. And it's an introduction that anyone who's a parent (or aunt, or uncle, or older sibling) will cringe (and laugh) in sympathy over. The jams in which Tess finds herself while Crock is around are frequently hilarious. She finds herself embarrassed way more than she wants to be in front of the hot Texas Ranger, and he does such a good job containing his laughter that she has a hard time reading what he thinks of her. I can't wait to see where things go between them in future books.

All these elements—family, humor, mystery, paranormal, hints of romance—combine to make a story I couldn't put down! Tiffany Seitz is a new author to me, and one I want to read more from.