situational-humor, verbal-humor, cozy-mystery, travel-agent, stepparent, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, cruise-ship, suspense, family-dynamics, friendship, romance*****

Have Agency, will travel.
Laugh your sox off reading this hilarious cozy mystery with a side of romance! Andi Anna Jones is a travel agent in Miami and Ruby the outrageous is her father's widow. Andi is stuck with Ruby's problems relating to a murder charge on ship because dad had commissioned her to care for Ruby (Andi's sister has a new baby). And then there's Sheriff Gonzalez of Cancun! And a fact finding trip to Vegas! A great reality escape read!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from The Wild Rose Press, Inc via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

Andi Anna Jones, travel agent in Miami, is awakened early (and I mean early) one morning by her ex-stepmother screaming in her ear. Once Andi is able to think, she gets the point that Ruby, the woman in question, is being held in Mexico for murder. The victim? An ex-lounge singer that Ruby met on board the sixtieth birthday cruise that Andi booked for her and three of her friends. It seems that Ruby was the last person to see him alive, and so naturally she's the main suspect.

Once Andi has spoken with her younger sister Georgia, she heads to Mexico to try and see what evidence they have of Ruby. While it doesn't seem like enough to Andi, she does what she needs to do: she calls Ruby's attorney friend Bert Bagley and 'convinces' him to get on the next plane to Mexico and get Ruby out on bail.

But once Andi sets eyes on the local sheriff, Manuel Gonzales, her heart starts hammering and her head isn't listening to her to knock it off. All she needs to do is ignore it and get on with business, right? Easier said than done when those piercing hazel eyes are staring right through her...

That done, she then devises a plan: go to the ship to see what she can find out, then head to Las Vegas, the lounge singer's old playing ground, to see if she can figure out the truth. But will she be able to get any information? And more importantly, will she find the killer or just find herself as the next victim instead?

This is the first book in a new series and I found it extremely delightful. Andi is hoping that she'll be able to clear Ruby quickly, but things aren't working out the way she hoped. Manny -- as Sheriff Gonzales asked her to call him -- is watching her every move, and it's making her nervous in more ways than one. Also, there seems to be an awful lot of clandestine goings-on around her, and they aren't boding well for her safety. While she just wants to chuck it all and let Ruby be thrown to the wolves, she made a vow to her late father to watch over her, so that she's doing...all while putting herself in the sight of a killer.

There's a lot going on here, with the action taking place on the cruise ship, Mexico, and even Las Vegas (where I live, and trust me, I find the Bodies exhibit creepy, too...just sayin'). But it's plenty of fun and frolic, and both humorous and expressive as she tries to solve the mystery surrounding the murder of the lounge singer. While it isn't all that difficult to put the clues together, it's the way it's done that is the enjoyment of reading this book.

When the ending comes through a very enchanting climax, all is once well again in Andi's world...or is it? I can hardly wait for the next installment in this series. Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the author but this in no way influenced my review.

https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2022/03/margaritas-mayhem-murder-andi-anna.htm... ( )

Everything about the book made me want to read it. I love margaritas, murder and mayhem, plus it takes place on a cruise ship heading for Cancun and a side trip to Vegas. Been there, done that.

I laughed my way through this fun-filled tale of a travel agent, Andi Anna, and her eccentric stepmother.

Andi Anna gets a phone call, and hops on a plane, zips to Cancun and is picked up at the airport by the most deliciously gorgeous hunk of a man, Sheriff Gonzalez.

Even the sexual tension reeks of humor by the lightness of Mary Cunningham’s writing style.

I laughed out loud at her experience on the plane to Vegas. And I too have felt the moisture being sucked from my body in Vegas’ super dry climate.

I highly recommend sitting down with a margarita as you read along with Andi and Ruby, who is a fabulous character that kept me entertained from beginning to end.

This humorous, lighthearted, funfilled, cozy mystery gets my recommendation.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Margarits, Mayhem & Murder by Mary Cunningham.

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