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Sunny Childs is a PI for a large security company in Alabama. When her flighty cousin Lee-Lee decides she wants to make a film on the trial and execution of Dale Weedlow, a convicted double murderer, Sunny joins her to make sure that her cousin keeps out of trouble. But the moment the townsfolk hears what they are doing, real trouble begins as the police and the leading citizens warn the two women off the story. That makes Sunny all the more determined to find out the truth. Soon it's very apparent that Weedlow was railroaded as there are missing documents and evidence and the transcripts from the trial show that his lawyer was incompetent. Sunny also uncovers rumors of alternative reasons why the women were killed, including financial misdeeds by the biggest employer in town, the presence of a violent and brutal boyfriend of one of the girls, and assorted stories of the women's indiscretions around town. Even as Sunny works her contacts to try to get the Governor's office to put through a stay of execution until all the questions about the murders can be answered, she and Lee-Lee find themselves surrounded by angry people willing to do almost anything to stop their investigation into the murders. It's up to Sunny to find the truth, get it to the Governor in time to stop the execution and most of all, keep Lee-Lee and herself alive. Most of FEET OF CLAY is well written. The investigation is solid and the pace of the story keeps you reading. I wasn't at all happy with the character of Lee-Lee, an over-used cliche of a gorgeous and flighty airhead who gets herself and other people into trouble while she hasn't a clue about anything going on around her, and at the same time is always forgiven by all because of her extreme beauty. I found her to be just plain annoying and I still can't understand why Sunny indulged her so much, even when lives were put into jeopardy because of her stupidity. The mystery was solid, as was the investigation and I enjoyed most of it, but the end of this book let me down completely. The solution to the case seemed to appear out of thin air, seemingly the only single secret that was actually kept by the people of the town. The action-packed climax of the story was completely undercut by a ridiculous situation and the final chapter wrapped up the story too quickly, almost as though the writer got bored and just wanted to end the book. I haven't read any of the others in this Sunny Childs series, so I was simply let down by the ending. I found the rest of the book passable and mostly well done and I think newcomers to the series will agree. But I have to think that fans of the series will feel cheated by the way the important personal aspects of Sunny's life were quickly glossed over in the final pages.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, June 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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