JACKIE VERONA – A Murder of Gypsies
By Kimberly Richardson
Pro Se Press
88 pgs.
The year is 1957 and Jackie Verona is a lovely black art student living in the progressive metropolis of Moon City. She is also very much in love with white musician and teacher, Clovis Willow. When Clovis’ younger sister Dianne is brutally murdered, most suspect it is her lover, a hippie guru named Sylvain who is the killer. Yet some internal instinct has Jackie believing otherwise. Eventually establishing a friendship with police detective Hancock, Jackie begins her own investigation.
She and her friend, Monica; become female versions of Holmes and Watson as they begin interviewing all the people in Sylvain’s bohemian family including his twin sister Althea. In the end, Jackie manages to put the puzzle pieces together and devise a dangerous gambit to catch the killer.
For a novella, “Jackie Verona – A Murder of Gypsies” delivers a very solid, entertaining mystery read with a charming lead. Here’s hoping we get to see more of Jackie in the future.
