A Fatal Glow: An Odessa Jones Mystery, Book 2

The story was a slow build with a few surprises but a predictable outcome. It was interesting and well written.

This second in the Odessa Jones Mysteries focuses on Dessa’s fledgling catering business when a wealthy client dies at the event. By shifting the action from Dessa’s mundane day job at Risko Realty, A Fatal Glow vibes with lighter energy than the heavier feeling that permeates the first book. Likewise, Dessa continues to slowly heal from her husband’s untimely death five years before. Dessa is a lovely character anchoring this series. Her decision to grow the catering business, alone, symbolizes her growth.As important as the catering business is to Dessa’s character, it also provides key elements for this mystery. Valerie Wilson Wesley plots a strong well written cozy focusing on the victim’s many tangled relationships. I kept going back and forth guessing which of the main suspects was the culprit.Overall rating: 5 stars. As the book progressed, I was drawn into a subplot involving Dessa and a teenager. The second half in particular revealed Dessa as having a lot of heart.

Exciting Series!Wonderful Book! Very fast-paced, seamless, and witty. This author can develop characters that make the readers fall in love with them and want more. I genuinely enjoyed reading the Odessa Jones mystery series and learning more about her catering business and the real estate company’s cast of characters. In this story, Odessa has become everyone’s friend and confidante and due to her charm and friendly demeanor people tend to trust her and her judgement. Odessa is also quite the detective in this story. I believe her investigative skills have advanced since the last book.As a life-long fan and reader of this author I would love to read more about Odessa’s character. In addition, I would like to see a romance develop between Odessa and Lennox.

Ms. Jones and her friends/family have become my favorite people to read about. Especially her aunts. Patiently waiting for book 3.

There are just some characters that, no matter what, you will always remember and want to know more about. Odessa Jones is one of those characters. In the second book from the “An Odessa Jones Mystery” series, A Fatal Glow, Dessa finds herself on the brink of change, but not all change is good. When the opportunity to cater a wealthy businessman's brunch is thrust at her, Dessa can’t say no. But her second sight is telling her to run in the opposite direction, fast. Unfortunately, she doesn’t listen and finds herself at the center of a murder investigation.Odessa is a widow trying her best to get her catering business back up and running while holding down a realtor job. She has second sight, a form of psychic ability, but sometimes it’s a curse, not a blessing. When her catering job, a brunch, ends in murder and she becomes a suspect, she has no choice but to jump in to clear her name. There are plenty of other suspects, and they all have an excellent motive to commit murder, but finding out which one is the guilty party puts Dessa’s life in danger. Red herrings are thrown into the mix to make Dessa’s job even harder, and her second sight doesn’t help unravel this murder.It's hard not to like Odessa, harder still not to cheer for her as she delves into the murder and the future. The brunch seems like a changing point for her and her friends, and her second sight might become more useful as changes become inevitable. This story is written well, suspects are easy to find and understandable, and returning characters add a touch of family to the entire story. The killer once revealed, will have readers smiling and nodding in appreciation. This is a series readers will return to with each new book and will want to see Dessa succeed in her catering business and her life. The characters in this book aren’t easily understandable if you haven’t read the first book, so I highly advise that readers do that before reading this one. I wouldn’t mind having a bit of Dessa’s second sight, and I definitely would love to attend a brunch she caters. A Fatal Glow is a wonderful read, with wonderful characters, and a plot that will keep you guessing.

Odessa Jones is a breath of fresh air as far as cozy mystery characters go. Yes, many others are widowed, others work several jobs, have strong family connections, and a no-nonsense look on life, but not all together. All this makes Odessa so much more relatable. She has a good heart and a struggling business but she’s doing her best, solving crimes and saving her friends along the way. I loved this story. It was well-paced and had so much going on, I didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Excellent mystery… I never saw it coming. This second mystery had so many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down until the end. Can’t wait for the next Odessa Jones mystery😃

A Fatal Glow by Valerie Wilson Wesley is a fantastic second book in the Odessa Jones Mysteries. I enjoyed the first one, A Glimmer of Death, but with Odessa starting to come more into her mystical powers more, I enjoyed A Fatal Glow even more!Wesley continues to give us well developed characters and we are introduced to a few more in book two. Love Aunt Phoenix and really feel a kinship with her! Even when Wesley writes a mean character she keeps me interested and it doesn’t feel fake, which I’ve found to be the case with some other cozy mystery writers. Wesley also isn’t afraid to write about some hard topics that other cozy mystery writers steer clear of, which is very refreshing.As far as the mystery went, we do get a bunch of suspects, but I was able to figure out the killer pretty easy, but it didn’t take away from the story because of how engrossed I became in the characters. I also enjoyed that while Dessa investigates she never does so in a way that really puts her in danger.Looking forward to book three in the Odessa Jones Mysteries.