Publication April 16, 2024
If you like your cozy mystery books with a touch of both mystery and religion, this one is definitely for you. Although I was perfectly happy with the Christian aspects, it did add some frustration as they frequently slowed the mystery. Let's face it, all mystery readers are in a hurry to find out whodunit. Although I've read most of this series from the beginning, It's easy, however, to enjoy the friendship and support the members of the Hope Street Church's Bible study members provide to each other. Heck, there's even romance. It didn't put me off the book, I'll note. In fact I found most of the scriptures related to the problem at hand, but felt it was fair to give potential readers a heads up, just as the publisher did me.
That said, I didn't really feel like I got to know more than the basic background of the supporting cast. I still found myself enjoying my time with Cooper, who began the series, if memory serves, working to repair copy machines. She's now the owner of a business and, as such, dealing with the need to juggle business, family, and personal needs. And, oh, while a cat person, she's dog sitting for a friend and that isn't proving an easy task for her given the little terrier's feisty personality and energy. Needless to say, her felines aren't happy, either. On the business side, while her father prepares for retirement, she's just hired a new employee and is dealing with her desire to have trust in her, a theme of one of the Bible study meetings, btw, while finding it difficult to do so on a couple occasions. And, oh, boy. Then there is her sister. Let's just say, they couldn't be much more different.
And, then there's that murder. The victim, a nasty food reviewer, is found dead in celebrity chef Anton Parsley's restaurant. Seems Cooper's boyfriend, Jon, is his honorary nephew. It therefore goes without asking that Cooper and the Hope Church group become involved in helping Anton and thereby Jon find the real murderer. There don't seem to be that many suspects. I had to laugh at times as the group investigated while admiring their "all for one" cooperation and support. Cooper is, hey, this is a cozy mystery, frequently warned away by the detective in charge but, well, Jon's involvement makes it personal, so Cooper vows to stay involved but safe. I bet you can guess that neither of these is easy, even with the best intentions.
Bottom line, despite my concerns that the Christian aspects may turn off those who walk into the book unprepared and what seemed a slow start with several slow downs, not to mention some some serious silly choices on Cooper's part, I did enjoy the book. Hence, a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. Thanks #NetGalley and #BeyondThePagePublishing for allowing me to drop into Hope Street Church again. I grew up with many of those same stories and admired the authors' ability to tie them into the very real-life murder investigation.
