Saturday, July 22, 2023

Review: A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke




About the Book


Genre
Cozy Mystery

Format
E-ARC

Publisher
St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Release Date
July 25, 2023


Synopsis from Goodreads:

CATCHING A KILLER WITHOUT SKIPPING A BEAT.

It’s springtime in Cedar River, Texas. The annual Bluebonnet Festival is brewing and the whole town is in harmony. Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie thought opening Sip & Spin Records was going to be their biggest hurdle, but the Frappuccino hits the fan when the mayor drops dead―poisoned by their delicious coffee.

Since Tansy was the one to brew the coffee, and Juni was the unfortunate citizen who stumbled upon the mayor’s body, the sisters find themselves in hot water. Family is everything to the Jessups, so with Tansy under suspicion, the sisters spring into action.

Between the town festivities, a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, and an accidental cow in the mix, Juni will have to pull out all the stops to find the mayor’s killer.

My Review

Cedar River, Texas is excited over their Bluebonnet Festival.  Everyone in town is involved with the festival in some way.  Juni Jessup  and her sisters are also taking part in the festivities with their Sip & Spin Record shop.  When the town’s mayor dies, after drinking a cup of their coffee, the town’s eyes all turn towards Juni and her sisters.  Her sister, Tansy, is especially under the microscope since she is the one who brewed the deadly coffee.

Juni, along with her sisters, set out to find a killer before Tansy is charged with the murder.  In the meantime, their business is suffering and the town’s gossips are in full swing.  The sisters are stunned when they discover how many people wanted to get rid of the mayor.  Now to figure out which one actually did the deed before Tansy is arrested for the crime.

This is the second book in the series. I absolutely loved the first one and it made my “Best of 2022” list. “A Fatal Groove” did not disappoint and there’s a good chance it will make my 2023 list as well.  

The author does a wonderful job of writing the Jessup family dyanmics.  From Juni to her sisters to their mother and their uncle - you can feel their closeness for each other.  They don’t necessarily always agree with each other, but they always support each other.  It’s a very realistic family unit.  

The other characters in the book are all well-developed and well-written.  There is a possible romantic triangle, but it takes a backseat to the mystery.  It doesn’t overshadow the suspense at all.  It’s the perfect mix of romance and mystery.  I always like the mystery/suspense part of the storyline to take center stage and it does in this book.

It’s a fast-pace storyline set in a small town in Texas. The author immediately drew me into the story and I felt like I was right there.  These are characters I truly cared about and cheered for.  

Another thing I appreciate is that the author gave us a record and coffee shop setting, which is a refreshing change from the usual bookstores, knitting shops, coffee shops, bakeries.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all those settings, but this is unique.  I enjoyed every minute of my time in Cedar River.

To say I’m looking forward to book #3 would be an understatement.  I’m already missing these characters.  

For reading challenges:

Craving for the Cozies Reading Challenge 2023
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2023
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2023


FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.


6 comments:

  1. This sounds like a fun series and I like that there's some romance in there too. Nice review!

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  2. I love the setting for this book. It’s always great to walk away from a book and wanting more. Hopefully there will be a third in the series.

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  3. Texas is a unique place, i can imagine these are some unique characters.

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  4. I just started listening to the first in the series yesterday. Glad to see you enjoy them so much.

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  5. I just started listining to the first in the series yesterday. Glad to see you enjoy them so much.

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  6. I think the Jessup sisters are my favorite part of this series. Great review!

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