Footprints in the Ferns

Footprints, Furniture, and Family I’m not sure which of this book’s parallel plots (Footprints in the Ferns AND Furniture under the Floorboards) held more interest for me (loved them both!), but it seems the common theme here is family. As Doreen walks down Nan’s memory lane with all the memorabilia she comes across in clearing out Nan’s antiques for a major auction house event, she is filled with love for her sweet-yet-still-sassy grandmother whose investment in the many valuable pieces of furniture, books, and art was always intended to provide Doreen's financial support for an independent life. The memories she finds date back even to Nan’s Nan, who would leave treats and trinkets in secret drawers and compartments for her own granddaughter to find. Doreen’s excitement as she continued to discover things in places she didn’t even know existed in the old house was incredibly exciting for me as well. Of course, between sessions with the antiques experts, Doreen cannot clear her mind of the footprints recently found at what looked like a foiled child abduction that were a match for the footprints found outside the scene of an unsolved disappearance of a young girl ten years ago. In this storyline, we see a couple of examples that show the definition of family that transcends traditional genealogy. When Mack is almost run off the road, the family known as Goliath, Mugs, and Thaddeus are the ones who convince Doreen that something bad has happened to Mack. No spoilers here, so as you read about solving the connection between the matching footprints, see whether you can spot the family theme there as well. Good luck and good reading! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I was looking forward to this book as I am hooked on this series and Dale Mayer does not disappoint! I loved the book from start to finish. Love the shenanigans the main character gets caught up in with her inherited three pets. Love that she keeps an ongoing dialogue with the pets and that they are treated as almost human. I love the relationship between the two main characters, Doreen and Mack. And really love the many escapades of Doreen' Nan. She is so adorable and funny and unpredictable. If you love a good mystery and some laughs you will love this book and this series. I cannot wait for the next book in the series! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I've reviewed another book in this series already. I highly recommend the entire series. But one must start with the first book & read them in order. You will be happy you did. Well written, great characters & a good puzzle in each. Please give this author a try. I've read other of her series & have enjoyed them all