Shopping Cart Annie by Cordy Fitzgerald

Conspiracies and intrigue abound in Cordy Fitzgerald’s entertaining debut mystery, Shopping Cart Annie.

Retired schoolteacher, Dr. Inez Buchanan is approached by Dolly David, a former neighbor’s godmother, who begs her to help find her granddaughter, now in her mid-thirties. She disappeared years earlier and Dolly believes that her granddaughter is alive, living in Afghanistan with a Taliban husband. She tells Inez that her granddaughter had recently contacted her, asking for money.

Days later, Inez learns that Dolly has committed suicide, naming her as the primary executor of Dolly’s billion dollar estate. A shocked Inez becomes determined to carry out Dolly’s last wish to find her granddaughter – and quickly discovers that there’s far more to her disappearance than Dolly could ever have imagined…

Set in Colorado in 2009, the story is interspersed with chapters that flash back to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Jordan in the mid-nineties, each evocatively described. The multi-faceted story flows well, woven together with a gripping tale of corruption and murder. However, the undisputed standout in Shopping Cart Annie is Fitzgerald’s protagonist, Inez Buchanan. As a well-educated, race-sensitive African-American woman, she bows down to no one, but admits her own mistakes, and the story is propelled along by her voice alone.

An irresistible blend of quirky characters and page-turning whodunit, Shopping Cart Annie is not to be missed.