Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert

Twelve years ago in the fictional town of Alvin the dead body of missing girl Ruby Mae Vickers was found underneath a willow tree and now fourteen year old Mary Ann Daily has seemingly vanished into thin air after getting off the school bus. Just days later Tiffany Michelle Yates has also disappeared.

This story is narrated by eleven year old boy Abe Teal, he lives with his teenage sister Carry and his Mum Leah who is the small town cop. Leah is still haunted by her first case, the unsolved murder of Ruby Mae. Abe and his best friend Dewey were the last people to see Tiffany before she went missing and he is determined to find out what has happened.
As much as it is a mystery/crime novel it is also a coming of age story and covers the families problems, Abe's Dad died when he was very young, in fact he can't even remember him and secretly gets hold of a photo of him that he takes around with him and his sister is getting older and has changed since becoming interested in boys. It also touches on the racial issues of the time and Abe trying to learn the difference between what is acceptable to say and what is racist.

I hadn't heard of the author Michael Hiebert before but as I have recently been enjoying a lot of southern fiction I thought I'd request it from Netgalley and was lucky enough to be approved for a copy. Dream With Little Angels does draw some parallels with To Kill A Mockingbird but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. It's an easy read with enough humour throughout to stop it becoming too dark, I loved the pie contest at the harvest festival.
If you enjoy southern fiction then it's worth a read.