A review by slayra
A Dead Red Heart by R.P. Dahlke

4.0

Lalla Bains is still working for her father as a crop duster and her main worry is a homeless veteran, Billy Wayne, who showered her loved red Cadillac with paper snowflakes. When Lalla tries to talk Billy into his senses, she finds him just in time to listen to his final words: "The more there is, the less you see". Armed with that strange clue and a couple of snooping friends, Lalla tries to find Billy's murderer while trying to ignore a special proposal from Sheriff Caleb - her boyfriend.

This mystery doesn't have as many twists and turns as the first book of the series, [b:A Dead Red Cadillac|10779852|A Dead Red Cadillac|R.P. Dahlke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328014993s/10779852.jpg|15691755], but I found myself suspecting of almost every character and feeling that Lalla was in danger at whatever she did. The suspense definitely worked for me! I empathise a lot with Lalla, but my favourite character in this book was Lalla's father: Noah Bains. Noah and Lalla dialogues are quite funny and surprising, not the usual father/daughter thing, though they obviously care for each other. He is a little crazy and I couldn't help but laugh while imagining a 68 year-old man wearing a lime green zoot-suit! He's quite the character and tries to give good advice to Lalla while driving her - and every widow on the block - nuts. Filled with a lot of funny, strange and very dark characters, this is another great Lalla Bains book!