About the Book
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Blackmail in the Big Easy turns to cold-blooded murder in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland.
When the mysterious letter arrives by courier, Valerie Cooper doesn’t know what to make of it. She’s become the beneficiary of her late husband’s estranged uncle’s will—a man she never knew—and inherited a majority partnership in the family’s company, New Orleans Fine Antiques. Valerie knows nothing about antiques, but she decides to learn the business and become an active partner. She’s also got her hands full fending off Collette, a woman who wants to sell the huge old house in the Irish Channel neighborhood Valerie and her husband painstakingly renovated.
Valerie isn’t interested in selling—but when her best friend Lauren, drags her to a costume party for the women’s Mardi Gras club, the Krewe of Athena, she stumbles over Collette’s body, a jeweled dagger sticking out of her chest. In a rush of panic, Valerie recognizes the dagger from her shop—and before she knows it, she’s become murder suspect number one.
Egged on by Lauren, she starts digging into Collette’s business dealings, and the deeper she digs, the dirtier it gets. Now all fingers are pointing at Valerie. In a desperate bid to clear her name, Valerie frantically tries to find who could have gotten hold of the dagger. But among a cadre of guests in full costume, it could be impossible to find the thief—and unmask the real killer.
My Review
Widow Valerie Cooper is an empty nester. Her sons are away at college and all she has is a huge house. One of the local real estate agents, Collette, is trying to talk her into selling, but Valerie has no intentions of selling the house she and her husband bought together. Collette is not one to give up.
Then, she receives a notice from the lawyer of her late husband’s uncle and learns she has inherited his estate. It’s a huge shock especially since her husband never mentioned the uncle. Valerie can’t help wondering why he would leave his whole estate to strangers. However, she decides an antique shop would be the perfect thing to keep her occupied.
When Valerie and her best friend attend a costume party, she is completely stunned when she finds Collette’s dead body. The police immediately turn their suspicion Valerie’s way since she and the victim squabbled over selling her home. Valerie is determined to prove her innocence.
I really enjoy books set in New Orleans, so I was excited to see a new cozy series set in that city. However, it took me a long time to get involved in the story. It felt as if the first half of the book was to introduce us to the characters and the atmosphere. That sometimes happens when it’s the first book in a series.
I didn't warm up to the characters right away, but eventually I did. I really liked Valerie and her best friend Lauren. They make a great team.
I would have liked to see more of a build up for the murder. It was slow-moving for me in some spots. Halfway through the book, things really sped up and I couldn’t wait to find out who did it. I guessed some things correctly but not the culprit. There were a couple of interesting twists thrown into the story.
All in all, the series got off to a decent start and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
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.
As you know I had similar feelings to you on this one. There were a lot of strengths but a lot of weaknesses. I'm hoping in the next one the strengths win out.
ReplyDeleteThat kitty on the cover is cute.
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to see I'm not the only one who struggled with a book, although you did like this one more than I did.
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