Death in Disguise (An Adam and Eve Mystery Book 1), by Emma Davies

Knowledge is power. It's what you do with it that determines whether that knowledge is good or evil. Fran discovers this, just as she discovers knowing people superficially isn't knowing them at all. The plot sounds simple enough. Fran caters a murder mystery party. Some time later, the person who was the victim in the play acting is murdered. Who did it? Was blackmail involved? It shouldn't be Fran's problem to find out, quite frankly, but she met Adam, the young (23) son of the party's hostess while hiding out in a closet of sorts. It's the bond they formed there that guides their future partnership in not just finding out who killed Becky but in growth. Adam is brilliant but socially awkward and prefers to hide out in his room at home. Fran is a wife, mother, and has a business to run. Neither would seem a likely sleuth in the making but somehow it works. Admittedly, I found it slow going at first. The characters weren't really interacting with anyone, even each other and the view point flips back and forth between Fran and Adam, and we are initially largely in their heads. Once they unite and Adam persuades Fran to help him find the murderer before the police suspect his mother of the crime, however, things pick up.

That's when the reality that she doesn't really know the suspects creates the first real obstacle in Fran's pursuit of the truth. Toss in that, quite frankly, she doesn't seem to have any real clue of how to pursue her quest and you can see Fran's awkwardness as a sleuth. She is gutsy, however, even when it means she is meeting up with the potential suspects seemingly without giving a thought as to what she'll do if the actual killer is among them and turns on her. One wonders, will Adam's intelligence help him help Fran or will his apparent ineptness socially make her even more nervous about this haphazard investigation than she already is? The process is fascinating to follow, I have to admit.

While on the surface rather simple, a who poisoned Becky thread, the plot is actually far more intricate and clever than this. Human emotions are involved. Relationships are revealed. Priorities are reordered. And, food.... there is lots and lots of wonderful sounding food eaten and shared. Will Adam come out of his misfit, introverted shell? Will Fran get out of that shed? Will she make it in time for the recital? Who killed Becky? Maybe more to the point, why?

It's all there and despite the slow to me start, maybe because I'd just finished a slam-bam, action from the first paragraph book, I thoroughly enjoyed "Death in Disguise". I am looking forward to the next adventure of Adam and (Fran)Eve and seeing what gadgets Adam comes up with.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the advance copy. 

Roadside Homicide (River Sutton Country Cozy Mysteries Book 1), by Nancy Basile

 I enjoyed this book. An interesting story combined with the weirdness many feel when coming home after a long time gone. Robin literally almost crashes into this mystery as the soon to be dead man stumbles out in front of her car. He's only able to mutter a few syllables before he dies but that is enough to make Robin, a computer search wiz, determined to find out not just who killed him but why. Along the way she encounters some blasts from the past, both good and bad. I had the wrong suspect pegged as the murderer, by the way, but it all made perfect sense at the end.

I liked Robin. Having been quite shy during my own high school days, more at home with my nose in a book than being social, I could relate. That made her ability to focus on finding long forgotten clues that tied two cases together make sense. She seemed to jump right into questioning people and pushing ahead when it might have been wiser to allow Chris, the local police and a former crush, to take the lead, of course. Will she get smarter and let him into her amateur investigation? Will Jenn's wedding come off with no more problems? Will Chris ever act on his long ago crush? Will Robin stay or will Robin go?

This book seemed to be a nice mesh of mystery and romance. Between Jenn's upcoming wedding (and I should probably note for any who care that it's a same sex wedding, in small town West Virginia, no less) and Robin discovering Chris' long ago crush, the mystery occasionally seems shoved into the background. That's actually good as, let's face it, even in real life investigations shouldn't focus our attention on finding the solution 24/7 but allow those involved to continue living, too. I liked that. On the downside, I made an early note to myself saying, "Will what's in her suitcase matter?" as I read the great detail given to that aspect of Robin's trip back to her ol' home town. Let's just say, the book started slow in my eyes. No fault of the author, I'm sure, but Ch. 2 was a repeat of Ch. 1, so the real action didn't start until the third chapter. After that, however, the pace began to pick up and I found myself interested in not just the mystery but Robin's family and relationships about her. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MediaMedusaLLC for the copy.

The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder, by Mary Jane Maffini

 

The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder, by Mary Jane Maffini 

A Charlotte Adams Mystery

 I found myself compelled to finish this book while, quite frankly, not knowing initially if it was because I wanted to know "who dun it" or get away from Charlotte. I didn't dislike her but found her obsessions and compulsion to go against everyone else's advice both admirable and annoying. In the end, I decided I'd like her, albeit in small doses. Jack, the love interest, summarizes Charlotte well when he tells her she has a "tendency to charge right in, no matter what the risks and try to make everything right." 

The plot itself is intriguing, the life long effect bullying can have on the victims.In this case it leads to multiple murders. Toss in some twisted personalities and it's no wonder chief victim, 911 operator Mona Pringle, begins to doubt her own sanity. Charlotte is a good friend and wants to support her. Now, if she just knew where Mona was. 

There are plenty of twists and turns, not to mention red herrings along the way, as well as hints on organizing your home and life. Charlotte is a professional organizer and we get to see her in action, a nice break from the building tension of the plot. Charlotte, of course, is in the middle of it all. I haven't read the previous books in the series so didn't feel like I knew the other regular characters as well as I might, but overall it made no difference. "The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder" works as a stand alone.

I won't detail the plot other to say Charlotte seems both compulsive and impulsive and basically ignores her friends' cautions that she needs to back off and let the police handle the investigation. This is a common theme in cozy mysteries, as is the main character shrugging of warnings and plowing ahead. Given Charlotte's personality and behavioral tendencies, I'm not sure she could stop even if she wanted to, to be honest, a compulsion that makes even the police and 911 operator reluctant to lend much weight to her ideas and theories. That leads to an especially frightening, tense ending.

I applaud the author for dealing with the potential long term harm of bullying, in this case during the characters' high school years. Charlotte seems to have slipped through relatively untouched, perhaps, as some hint, because of her mother's position (a story obviously told in previous books), but feels guilt now because she feels partly responsible for not doing everything she might have been able to do to stop it and protect the more vulnerable. I think it was that sense of responsibility, the caring about others and their pasts, that made me like Charlotte in the end, even while withing she could just chill out a bit. 

For an intriguing, thoughtful read, "The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder" is a winner. I'm tempted, I must admit, to skip backward and read the books in the series leading up to this one. I don't always feel this way when I jump into a series in the middle, so that is high praise. Excellent writing, a plot that moved along, and, oh, did I mention there are dogs? Therapy dogs, in fact, that visit an Alzheimer's wing with Charlotte. See, I told you there were reasons I liked her in the end. 

Thank you @NetGalley and #BeyondthePage