DANCE ON HIS GRAVE has all of the ingredients for the perfect mystery book!!!, July 7, 2007

By Kathleen Kubik

I read DANCE ON HIS GRAVE in less than two days, and when I was finished I found myself wanting more. I can't wait for the other two books in the Third Eye series to be released.

My favorite thing about the book is the protagonist, Sid Smart. I could read a scene with her in it where she just drinks a cup of coffee and love it. But Sylvia takes us much further than that, and plunges Sid into a world that is foreign to her - and so completely different from her former life as a Baptist preacher's wife - as a private investigator. I rooted for Sid to solve the case but also to overcome her own demons and to grow stronger as a result. All great characters are revealed through change, and boy, does Sid change!

As a member of Sylvia's online writing group, Persist and Publish, I already knew I loved Sid as a character, so I knew I'd like the book, but I didn't know how addictive the book would be!!! DANCE ON HIS GRAVE is a very empowering read, especially for women readers. I know this series is going to be a huge success - I can't wait until November for the second book to be released!!

Don't miss out - get in and read the first in the series now.

FAST MOVING – June 27, 2007

By Annette W. Banks

I was most impressed with the character development. Ms. Smith had great control of the story line and movement from the first page to the last page. She grabbed me into the work and hung on to me as I snatched moments here and there in order to finish it within two days.
Who would have known that it was her first novel---thank goodness, it is not her only one!!

DANCE ON HIS GRAVE – June 26, 2007

By Fred W. Russell

This book held my interest from the start to the finish. I becamed so hooked on this wonderful suspense novel I did not want to put it down.
The author does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat threw out the book.

ATMOSPHERIC SUSPENSE, INTERESTING PROTAGONIST – May 23, 2007

By nlc123 (USA)

My favorite part of Sylvia Dickey Smith's new novel is her protagonist, Sidra Smart. Sid's unusual past--preacher's wife turned private eye--makes her stand out in this genre. Sid, who's trying to start over at the age of 50, gets drawn into the case in a believable way, and soon becomes deeply involved in family secrets and a long-ago crime that the villain wants desperately to remain hidden. Smith does a great job of evoking Texas Cajun country, and the plot never lets up. If you enjoy fast-paced suspense with interesting characters and a strong sense of place, you'll be glad you got to know Sidra Smart!

DANCE ON HIS GRAVE KEPT ME ENTHRALLED – May 22, 2007

By Julie A. Fuschak

This mystery/suspense, written by Sylvia Dickey Smith, involves a strong, female protagonist....my kind of character. And she is funny too! The bad guy is really bad...but the issues addressed through the mystery/investigation are serious and contemporary situations. Sylvia demonstrates how we can overcome whatever life may bring us. And her title, once arrived at in the story line, is perfect. I recommend buying this book if you like good character development, great story line, and suspense. Julie Fuschak, Georgetown, Tx.

I’M ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO INSTALLENT NUMBER TWO OF THIS TRILOGY – May 16, 2007

By Tom Zlockie (Washington, DC)

This is a fantastically written mystery/suspense novel that demonstrates Ms. Smith's talent as a storyteller and artist. She manages to intertwine research, reality and fiction into a plot that entertains and makes you think! Watch out John Grisham!

DANCE ON HIS GRAVE

Reviewed by Earl Staggs

Sidra "Sid" Smart bursts out of a tightly-wrapped cocoon when she divorces the man she married at the age of seventeen. After many years as the wife of a controlling Baptist preacher and being told what to do and think, how to dress and when to smile, she is determined to find out what kind of person she might have been.

First, however, she must travel from Houston to the east Texas town of Orange and dispose of the private investigation business willed to her by her brother, who was recently killed in a car accident.

When Sid visits her brother’s deserted office to plan how to get rid of it, a distraught young woman shows up. Jewell Stone has recurring nightmares and flashes of memory from thirty years ago when she was a child. She and her sister saw a woman being tortured and killed. The murderer also physically and sexually abused Jewell’s sister. The man was their father, Roy Manly, and both sisters live in mortal fear he will find them and silence them, even after all this time. Jewell hired Sid’s brother to find proof of his guilt and have him tried and convicted so she and her sister could live without fear of him and their terrifying nightmares would end.

Sid explains that her brother is dead and refers Jewell to another PI in the area. She may not be sure what she wants to do with the rest of her reclaimed life, but she is certain it will not be running a PI business, something she knows nothing about. The other PI, George Leger, a colorful bear of a man who speaks with a thick Cajun accent when it suits him, not only refuses to take over Jewell’s case, but convinces Sid to give the business a try under his tutelage.

The author did an excellent job of showing Sid as a woman balancing her desire to break away from the shackles of her previous life with a determination to see long overdue justice done. But it’s not only an internal struggle. Smith provides plenty of action, adventure and suspense along the way. In search of evidence against Roy Manly, she sends Sid traveling not only across Texas and to the island of Trinidad, but into the depths of an alligator-ridden swamp in search of a Cajun psychic. The search becomes more complicated when there are attempts on her life, and she uncovers evidence of other crimes involving someone in her ex-husband’s parsonage. Even the supposed accidental death of her brother becomes suspicious.

Smith has also surrounded Sid with an interesting and intriguing cast of characters. One is the local Police Chief who salivates at the thought of solving a thirty-year-old murder. Another is Sid’s wacky Aunt Annie, who arrives wearing a raspberry beret, a bright green pantsuit and gaudy costume jewelry with a large metallic-gold purse slung over one shoulder and a huge tabby cat named Chesterfield over the other.

The local DA is also highly interested, not only in the old murder, but in Sid personally. The attraction between them frightens Sid with feelings she doesn’t want. She is convinced all men want to control women, and she has to remind herself she can never let that happen to her again.

Author Sylvia Dickey Smith has skillfully woven a story of a woman driven to begin a new life on her own with a chilling tale of mystery and suspense. You’ll find yourself drawn to Sid Smart and cheering for her to succeed against past and present obstacles all the way to the knuckle-whitening climax. You’ll also find yourself, like me, wanting to see more of Sid in future novels.

DANCE ON HIS GRAVE - MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW March 2008

Sidra Smart is 51 years old and recently divorced from her preacher husband. When her brother dies in a motor vehicle accident, Sid, inherits his investigative firm, The Third Eye, in Orange, Texas. Sidra has no experience as an investigator and initially intends to sell the business but is intrigued by a young woman named Jewell, who claims her father murdered a woman 30 years before. Although Jewell was three when it happened, her memories are so intense, Sid can’t help but wonder if they’re real. She questions Jewell’s sister, Emma, who corroborates much of what Jewell remembers. Emma and Jewell confide in Sid their father’s cruelty, and both, along with their mother, are suffering mental and emotional sequelae as a result of his abuse. Sid contacts the sheriff of Orange, Texas with the information Jewell has provided, and shortly thereafter, her life is threatened. This makes Sid more determined than ever to bring justice upon the man who has severely damaged so many lives. But someone is intent on stopping her.