An Amazon free ebook that captured my imagination and attention. A single Mom who recently experienced the end of a 25 year marriage to a philanderer. Feeling invisible as she finds it difficult to reconnect to feeling desirable, she decides to use this invisibility to investigate who murdered the man left in her mother's garage and set her house on fire. So begins this story with a well-developed and highly believable cast of characters. ( )

Though I don’t often have the time to read them anymore, I love cozy mysteries. It is really rare however for books of this genre to be published in Australia, there was a brief flurry released in the late 1980′s/early 1990′s by author’s such as Jennifer Rowe, Kerry Greenwood and Claire McNab but few since. So I am delighted that Ilsa Evans new cozy mystery series has been picked up by Momentum, and hope there will be more.

Nefarious Doings introduces Nell Forrest who lives in the small town of Majic, named rather prosaically for its eccentric Hungarian founder. Recently deserted by her husband of twenty five years, she shares her home rather peaceably with the youngest of her five daughter’s while writing a column for the local newspaper. And then one of her daughter’s arrives home with the news she has dropped out of university and her mother moves in after her own house was set alight, revealing the body of a man in the garage.

What follows is more murder, mystery and mayhem as Nell, anxious both to prove her mother innocent of killing her dropkick neighbour and get her mother back in her own home, begins to investigate the community of Majic, with the aid of her sister, Petra, her daughters and the occasional tip warning from the dashing Detective Sergeant Ashley Armistead. Nell imagines solving the mystery, and being rewarded by ‘unbridled sex’ with Armistead, but instead she gets too close to the hidden truths and risks becoming the next victim. The twists and turns of the plot are convincing with plenty of suspects muddying up the waters. The identity of the murderer is fairly predictable but the motivation less so.

The characters in Nefarious Doings are all believable, even given slight exaggeration. I adore Nell and her somewhat chaotic family. I love how ordinary they are with all the benign sibling rivalry and Nell’s motherly concern for, and frustration with, her daughters. It’s the details of the life they live – making dinner, going to work/school, that adds depth and authenticity to the story.

I feel I have to disclose that I regularly play Words With Friends with Ilsa – she usually wins, and last year I won a competition she ran to name a character for a cameo appearance in Nefarious Doings – look out for Grace June Rae (named for my grandmothers). However my friendship with Ilsa hasn’t affected my opinion about this book, it is an entertaining read – funny, engaging and well, cozy. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book, Ill-Gotten Gains, due out September 1st. ( )

The beginning of a fun new mystery series! This easy to read mystery has likeable characters, an intriguing mystery, a little romance and something a lot of mysteries don't have, a family life for the sleuth.

Nell is a single mom with 5 daughters ranging from out on their own down to 13. She's a journalist writing a column for her local paper when her mother's house is burned down and a dead body is found in the garage. Her mother, an very opinionated bookstore owner, needs to move in with her while her house is unlivable. Solving the mystery seems the best way to keep her mother from being the prime suspect in the murder and getting her out of Nell's house!

We get a good feel for the citizens and interactions in Nell's small town in Australia. The family dynamic, while comic at times, also has a authentic feel to it. I could imagine my kids and my siblings interacting in very similar ways. That feeling of a real family is something that's missing in a lot of mysteries and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll be ready for more adventures of Nell Forrest!

I was given the opportunity to read this through NetGalley and I appreciate the author and publisher for letting me do so. ( )