Protagonist: 6/10Secondary Characters: 6/10Mystery: 8/10Humor: 5/10Pace: 6/10A nice, quick, cozy mystery with a light romance tossed in. Overall, I liked it. The mystery kept me guessing right up to the end. The romance was a nice touch. Actually, the romance was my favorite parts of the book. I absolutely lusted after Villari. Ahem… anyway, the writing was good and kept me turning the pages. But there were times when the pace was sluggish for me.I also didn't really care for Maggie. Her sarcasm in the beginning of the story in the face of her, supposed, friends murder was tacky and disrespectful. You have to be one cold-hearted b!tch to make fun of a murdered woman you claimed to care for like a mother the day after she turns up dead on your property. That tainted her image for me for the remainder of the book. Only reason I kept reading was because of Villari. I doubt I'll read the rest of the series. Read this one for free through the Kindle Prime program. Sometimes those are hit and miss. But I liked this one quite a bit.The story opens with the recent discovery of the neighbors body in the septic tank of our heroine. And yes this is a cozy mystery. While she is the required amateur sleuth, she doesn't necessarily "go investigating." She does talk to a person or two and things kind of reshuffle in her head. This feels more realistic to me from an amateur mainly because this is how I tend to problem solve.It's pretty light and fun. I am going to get the next one in the series to read. So I guess that's a recommendation.
Do You like book Artful Dodger (2013)?
Great dialog, laugh out loud funny. Good plot, I liked her crazy characters. Good read
—Rich
A cute, light mystery with an engaging amateur sleuth.
—Norma
