Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons

August 3, 2015
Swank’s delightful second Rose Gardner mystery (after Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes) finds the daffy, accident-prone Rose up to some risky hijinks after she has one of her “visions” in the Fenton County, Ark., courthouse. In a quandary over whether to move to Little Rock to be nearer to police detective Joe Simmons, her boyfriend, the 24-year-old Rose gets a brief reprieve: jury duty. Running late because of parking problems, a broken heel, a security scan delay, plus the ladies’ room being cleaned, Rose takes care of urgent business in the men’s. While there, she has a psychic vision and realizes that the man on trial is not guilty. Swank makes affable Rose and company—Joe, sister Violet, dog Muffy, and nosy neighbor Mildred—so charming and diverting that we’re willing to overlook minor improbabilities and just enjoy this romantic suspense ride-along.