FOUR BEACON REVIEW FOR THE SWEET SMELL OF DEATH
by Sylvia Rochester

Laney came home because of a death in the family, her own fathers. A few days later there is another death, this time a friend from high school. Now she doesn't believe that it is a coincidence, but murder. Determined to track down her father's killer she teams up with Trent Harrington, a writer who has befriended her father. Or so she thinks. Unknowing to her, Trent is actually a federal agent trying to uncover a drug smuggling ring in Laney's hometown. She begins to fall for him despite her better judgment and is devastated when she finds out who he really is. He's been there for her through the whole investigation of her father's death, can she forgive him about this one little lie and give him a chance to explain himself?  Can she ever forgive him and get to know the "real" Trent Harrington, federal agent?

Sylvia Rochester's The Sweet Smell of Death is a page turner. She keeps the reader guessing who done it and every time that you think you've figured it out, she adds another twist. If you enjoy a good mystery this is the book for you. She makes her characters come to life within the pages of her books and you fall in love with them just like you would if they were real people.
Reviewed by:  Kathryn.   http://www.lighthouseliteraryreviews.com/

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THE SWEET SMELL OF DEATH will carry you right into the bayou country with vivid mental pictures of crunchy autumn leaves, brilliant sunsets, and the spooky fog drifting in smoky curls within the twisty, Louisianan waterways. I felt like I was there, experiencing the dangers with the hero and heroine. This is a well-plotted, fast paced who-done-it. I highly recommend it.

Hearing her father has been shot to death in the bayou, Laney Gravelle, flies home to the small town of Creeve’, Southern Louisiana, not only to settle her late father’s affairs, but also with an unswervable determination to find his killer. Once there, she discovers the town is no longer the sweet simple backwoods area where she had once gone to school. Things have changed drastically since she had left for California.

Undercover as a writer, DEA Special Agent Trent Harington, is under oath not to divulge his true identity to anyone, particularly not Marlon Gravelle’s daughter. Laney replaces her dad as Trent’s local guide, knowing the bayous and waterways as well as her late father. However, Trent knows he mustn’t allow Laney’s sparkling green eyes, and determination to do things her own way, to distract him from finishing his mission to identify the drug lord behind the air-lifted drug-drops taking place in the swamps. Somehow, he has to protect her without her suspecting just how much danger stalks her.  JoEllen Conger author of  The Queen of Candelore, Rite of Passage, Return of the Goddess, and Cinderella and the Stripper.  www.CongerBooks.com

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A plane flies low overhead. In the darkness, an old man crouches in a small aluminum boat, whispering into his cell phone. This is the last call Marlon Gravelle will ever make. His body is found floating in the shallow waters of Bayou Creeve. DEA agent, Trent Harrington loses not only his informant and friend, but his guide, jeopardizing his chances to bring down a drug smuggling operation. Marlon's only daughter and artist, Laney Gravelle, arrives from California . Trent can use Laney's help but can’t reveal his identity.

Everyone is suspect. Lives change forever. Laney becomes a target. Ms. Rochester weaves this work with extraordinary skill. She takes you on a ride through the Louisiana bayous, meeting characters and seeing places you won't soon forget on a quest to save Laney's life. Will Laney forgive Trent when she discovers the truth about him? Or will she blame him for her father's death?

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The Sweet Smell of Death is a must read. I look forward to Sylvia Rochester's next Novel.  Jacqueline McGuyer, author of Blood Secrets and The Java Pump.  www.jackimcguyer.com