Murdered and Missing:
A review of Betsy Brannon Green's Copycat

FBI Agent Mark Iverson is on the case again, this time trying to determine whether an executed killer's confession to not committing the crime is true. After being called to the prison to listen to a psychopathic murderer explain how he killed more people than he has gotten credit for, but that he did not kill a person he was convicted of murdering, Agent Iverson starts nosing around to see what he can discover about the murdered woman, Erica Helms.

Betsy Brannon Green's fans are familiar with the Georgia setting and most of the main characters in her novels. By now, these characters are so well-known, Green doesn't waste any time explaining backgrounds. The reader is introduced to the newer primary characters: a lawyer, the husband of a missing woman, Agent Iverson's sister-in-law, and an assistant to the Attorney General's office. Together, they all work with Agent Iverson to solve the murder of Erica Helms and the missing woman. In the meantime, Agent Iverson's wife Kate helps her sister solve some marital problems, people fall in love, a body is swapped with another, and the assistant to the Attorney General's office is suspicious of everyone.

Copycat is probably quite enjoyable for those readers accustomed to Green's characters and settings. For readers who have not followed her novels, the characters come across somewhat haphazardly and lacking a foundational back-story, with characters relegated to sparse sentences of explanation. The exceptions are Agent Iverson, who remains forefront in the story while he tries to solve the crimes, and Miss Eugenia, who tries to meddle in everything. Agent Iverson reads like most fictional FBI agents, with a few additional duties as bishop of his LDS ward. Miss Eugenia is written over-the-top, but is quite amusing due to the comments she feels free to sprinkle throughout her many conversations with everyone.

While Copycat is interesting, it is definitely a light read, with too much focused on peripheral items and events (cooking, a wedding, a pregnancy, a vegetable stand), so the murder of Erica Helms holds less importance. Green writes an enjoyable, but not truly engaging story. That does not mean I won't read the next one. If for no other reason, I want to know if Miss Eugenia is going to hook up with her lawyer friend.

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Lisa L. Close
January 20, 2006