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Are You Lonesome Tonight? In need of a fun-filled read that mixes a little bit of mystery with a whole lot of laughs? Well, That’s All Right. Just pick up a copy of Gary Gusick’s latest Darla Cavannah Mystery, Officer Elvis. It might just leave you feeling All Shook Up.
The story finds Mississippi Bureau of Investigation detective Darla Cavannah investigating the death of her former partner, Tommy Reylander. Tommy moonlighted as an Elvis tribute artist, and after performing at a local retirement home one night, his custom Cadillac exploded, taking Tommy to that great Elvis concert in the sky.
Darla’s boss wants nothing to do with the case—yet, despite the fact that Tommy wasn’t exactly a beloved partner, Darla feels obligated to investigate the murder of one of their own. And she soon finds herself tangled up in the wacky world of Elvis impersonators, tracking a twisted serial killer.
Officer Elvis is an entertaining mystery, traveling through the South with Darla and her team to hunt down a killer who seems to hold a pretty serious grudge against the King of Rock and Roll. Along the way, Darla finds herself at plenty of dead ends—trails that lead her to mobsters, drug dealers, and crooked businessmen before going cold. Tommy was definitely up to something—and it seems that any number of things could have gotten him killed. So even after the killer is brought to justice, the story continues, heading in a completely different direction to tie up all of the loose ends with unexpected results.
Really, though, the mystery is secondary to the fun Southern setting and the cast full of quirky characters. The story has its own kind of Southern flair, and it’s made all the more amusing when it’s seen through the eyes of a Yankee transplant. Darla has lived in Mississippi for years, but she’ll always be seen as an outsider—and she’ll never really understand the strange habits and passions of the people around her. Her wry wit and sarcastic commentary on Southern traditions add more than a little bit of humor to the adventure. So do the kooky characters: Darla’s close friends, her eccentric coworkers, and (especially) a plethora of Elvis impersonators—which, it turns out, come in all shapes, sizes, and gimmicks. And they turn an otherwise easy-going cozy mystery into an often wildly funny adventure.
With its comical Down South style and its wide variety of sequined, pompadoured characters, Officer Elvis is an intriguing mystery with more than its share of quirks. Even if you’re not a fan of the King, you’re sure to get plenty of laughs out of this rockin’ and rollin’ whoduint.
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