KInd of nice to have a protagonist of a certain age, with a blend of both Jessica Fletcher and Miss Julia's wisdom at the ready. Mikki Lincoln is retired, but does freelance book editing after moving back to her childhood home in Lenape Hollow. Mikki can count on one hand the amount of times she has truly lost her temper. Unfortunately for Mikki her blow up at the self serve gas station pump with developer Greg Onslow makes the rounds virtually before the dust settles. Her rant makes her an easy early suspect by the next morning when Greg is found dead. The history of a local Catskills hotel and the memoir Mikki is working on brings some interesting flavor to the story. It was a good book. ( )

A Fatal Fiction by Kaitlyn Dunnett is the 3rd A Deadly Edits Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to this series (or skipped a book). The author has a casual writing style which makes the story easy to read. I enjoyed the descriptions of the town and the surrounding area. The pacing varies throughout the story. Mikki Lincoln is seventy years old and a widow. After her husband’s death, she moved back to her hometown of Lenape Hollow. Mikki also purchased her childhood home and spent most of her retirement money fixing it up. Mikki is a retired English teacher. She takes those skills to begin a manuscript editing business out of her home. Grammar is a theme featured throughout the series with helpful tips at the end of the book. Mikki rarely loses her temper, but Greg Onslow pushed her buttons when she was filling up the tank of her car. Unfortunately, the whole scene was caught by someone wielding a cell phone and posted online. When Onslow ends up murdered, Mikki along with her cousin, Luke find themselves suspects. When the detective seems to focus on the cousins, Mikki sets out to find the true culprit. I like that Mikki is an older protagonist who brings a mature viewpoint to the cases she investigates. The mystery had multiple suspects courtesy of Onslow’s swindling ways. There is a red herring or two to distract the reader. Devoted cozy mystery readers will have no problem pinpointing the guilty party. I would have liked a better wrap up of the case. I was left with a couple of unanswered questions. Mikki needs to work on her questioning technique. She is too direct which can come across as rude. Mikki also feels the need to use her “teacher” voice to put people in their place too often. Nick, Mikki’s nephew, pays a visit and I found him an annoying individual. I know he was trying to protect his aunt, but his behavior bordered on boorish. Nick and Mikki clashed frequently. I have trouble liking the characters in this series. I want them to be more like those in the author’s A Liss MacCrimmon Mystery series. My favorite line in A Fatal Fiction came from Sunny when she said, “Good riddance to bad rubbish” when she learned Onslow was dead. A Fatal Fiction is a blithesome cozy mystery with one dead developer, a reckless writer, magnified memoirs, a nagging nephew, and an annoyed aunt. ( )

A Fatal Fiction is the third book in A Deadly Edits Mystery series.

Once again, the deceptive developer Greg Onslow is out to cause trouble. Onslow is still upset that Mikki Lincoln refuses to edit his lat wife’s manuscript. So when he notices her at the local gas station he begins talking to her and before long it turns into a loud shouting match. Somebody has recorded the melee and the video has gone viral and before long most everyone in Lenape Hollow has seen the video. The next afternoon while researching with Sunny Feldman, when Pam Ingram, the librarian, informs them that Onslow’s dead body has been found at the old Feldman resort that he was in the process of tearing down. Mikki knows that is just a matter of time until the police come to question her whereabouts when Onslow had died.

After her initial police interview, Mikki realizes that she will have to start her investigation to clear her name. As she is getting to a good start to looking for possible suspects, out of the blue her nephew Nicky shows up. Claiming that he wants a vacation and decided to come to see his favorite aunt, never mind she is his only aunt. He soon admits that he is there to protect her. She knows that this will put a damper on her sleuthing. Then her cousin, Luke, is questioned by the police and will become a suspect. Mikki hopes he’s not involved, but he is unwilling to explain why he is under suspicion. She’s hoping that the killer will be found before they might also become victims.

A wonderful addition to this interesting series. It’s well-plotted and written and moves at a nice even pace. The characters were well-developed and believable.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series. ( )

Even though this third installment of Dunnett's Deadly Edits cozy series feels a bit flat, I still enjoyed it-- and that's primarily due to the main character, Mikki Lincoln. Her deceased husband described her as a BMW-- Big Maine Woman-- and this seventy-something freelance book editor with her hearing aids and glasses is one sharp observer with a voice that draws me right into the story.

A lot of humor is provided when Mikki is sent a "bodyguard" to keep her safe while she tries to find Onslow's killer, and I did enjoy learning nuggets of history about the Borscht Belt in the Catskills. But that's not all A Fatal Fiction has. It also has a strong mystery that took me some time to figure out.

If you're in the mood for a light-hearted mystery with an older (and wiser) sleuth, A Fatal Fiction is the book for you. If you're a newcomer to the series, start with the first one, Crime & Punctuation. You're going to have some fun.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) ( )

“A Fatal Fiction” can best be described as a cozy mystery. When copy editor Mikki Lincoln engages in a public verbal spat with a local developer, she never expects him to wind up dead within 24 hours. Greg Onslow was not well-liked in the small town of Lenape Hollow, and murder suspects abound. Mikki teams up with local law enforcement to try to solve the case. Several ex-lovers and co-workers serve as likely criminals. Readers might guess the perpetrator, but probably not the motive. However, the final scene might make readers wonder what Mikki was thinking at the time. Devourers of cozies will no doubt enjoy feisty Mikki Lincoln as well as her nephew Nick and other assorted characters who people this novel.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )