Michael Keane, the deputy sheriff, is on the case again for this third mystery in Hidden Springs. He is a young single man who helps out in his local church with the youth group as well as looking out for his older aunt who raised him after the loss of his parents and other folks in town. He has an ongoing complicated relationship with a woman he has known from his childhood who is a lawyer in Washington, D.C.

I have all three books in the series... I wrote a review for the second one and loved it so much I bought the first one to go with it. The third one is hitting shelves now. They can definitely be read as stand-alone books but I have enjoyed getting to know the people of Hidden Springs very much through the series.
Gabhart jumps right to the murder in this one from the opening. It pulled me in right away and I have a hard time putting these books down because they are paced well and are written well. These books are kind of "Mitford" meets "Jesse Stone and Paradise" for me... I love both!

Fifteen year old Maggie Greene assists her mother in cleaning the old Chandler place in Hidden Springs. The home belongs to a woman with dementia named Miss Fonda who currently resides in the local retirement care facility. On occasion Maggie sneaks in to spend time in the tower room to get away from the world and write, read or just gaze out the window. On this particular day she realizes that she is not alone in the house. She quietly waits and listens as she hears footsteps and voices. She did not want to be caught and be accused of breaking in and trespassing.

In a matter of minutes she hears angry voices and then a commotion on the stairs. A woman shrieks and then there is a thump that shakes the upstairs. Maggie hears a door opening and closing. Once she emerged from hiding she saw the body of a local realtor Mrs. Geraldine Harper lying lifeless at the bottom of the top staircase. She knew she needed to get help but she could not let anyone know she was there. She looked around and took Mrs. Harper's phone and dialed 911.... the operator on the other end prompted Maggie to "respond if you can" and all Maggie could say was.... "She can't. She's dead." She hangs up the phone and then puts the phone down by Mrs. Harper's purse. Maggie makes her escape unseen... so she thinks.

The body is discovered and the conclusion is made that it was an accident but Maggie knows better... will she come forward to tell Michael Keane or anyone else what she knows?

Join this cast of charming small town characters as they uncover surprises along the way to discovering if this really was an accidental death or if this is something more sinister.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Revell (a division of Baker Publishing Group) in exchange for an honest read and review. ( )

This is the third entry in Gabhart's "Hidden Springs" mystery series, featuring Michael Keene, a Deputy Sheriff in the small town of Hidden Springs, Kentucky. When a local realtor is found dead at the base of the stairs in an empty Victorian Mansion owned by an elderly lady suffering from dementia, Michael is called to investigate whether this is an unfortunate accident or something more sinister. At the same time, he is grappling with whether his on-again, off-again relationship with Washington D.C. lawyer and childhood sweetheart Alexandria has any future, given their vastly differing lifestyles.

This is a very satisfying mystery, with enough of a puzzle to keep the reader guessing for quite awhile but not so obscure as to be unsolvable and frustrating. The relationship issues are well handled, and not impossible to follow for a reader like myself who has not yet read the first two books in the series. The Christian content is deftly handled, and flows naturally from the characters.

I look forward to seeking out the other books in the series. ( )

Maggie loves to sit in the tower room of an old Victorian mansion, a house her mother cleans, but things get messy when she finds the local realtor dead at the bottom of the stairs and she may be the only "witness" because of an argument she heard from the tower room. Fonda Chandler, an elder dementia patient at the local nursing home, is the owner and gave Maggie permission to be there, but no one else knows that so Maggie is afraid to let anyone know what she heard. Another murder gets the local sheriff thinking that the "accidental" fall by the realtor wasn't necessarily an accident.

The characters in this series are continuing to emerge with their own personalities and the mystery was entertaining. ( )

I enjoyed this book from the beginning, quickly discovering that the author writes with a thread of humor throughout and the death may simply be a deadly accident. This story pulled me in quickly with its small town, cozy but with its fair share of seniors and dementia added to the mix. Old, well-hidden secrets also seem to be woven into everyday life. This is my first book by A.H. Gabart, and as I read, I'm looking forward to what will come to light in this quirky town. Mystery, history, dementia, family, faith and secrets seem intertwined with what should have been and what is. Who is in such a hurry to sell the old Chandler house while the owner is still living, though not occupying the house? What does Miss Fonda know, trapped in her mind? Most importantly, who is hiding in the house and searching for what?

Maggie, a young girl who cleans the old house, is terrified; though she finds a dead woman, she did not see her fall, nor how she died. Why does she feel so threatened? But this story is not just about death, fear or possible murder. This is a town of curiosity, longing, and life. A town of close neighbours and caring, yet fear has invaded, love and living put on hold. Hidden Springs, a lovely name, what was a lovely town. Secrets and mystery have taken it over. I love this book! In many ways it is uplifting even in light of the "incidents" that are trying to shake up the townspeople. Are these incidents accidents or murder?

I love the determination of the life of Miss Fonda, with her dementia and the forms it has taken. She is a major focus, for all her confusion. There is always something important if the time is taken to understand it, and what is important to her is home and the deceased sister she believes still lives there. A.H. Gabhart is a gifted writer that makes a story sound and feel real with all its foibles, friendships, caring and grace. ( )

Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane’s simple job in his little town changes to high stress when a realtor, engaged in selling a home accidentally falls down the house’s staircase. She dies from her injury. No one considers this incident a murder but Michael senses something awry. As one of the oldest homes in town, this three story mansion carries a history of falls. The citizens maintain closed mouths not assisting Michael at all. Is there something sinister occurring in his domain?
I thoroughly enjoyed this third novel in the Hidden Springs Mystery series. This can be read as a stand alone but the fascinating people living in Hidden Springs will grow on you in each book. A. H. Gabhart has written another hit! Hopefully, another in the series is coming. I need to know what Michael does about his true love!

NetGalley and Revell provided a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )