Christy Fifield

This one was a bit of an odd duck: there's a murder mystery, but the MC, Glory, doesn't investigate, there aren't any clues, and there aren't any suspects beyond the two who are falsely accused. Glory finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time once or twice but it's never used to further the solution to who killed the two men. Even the last "action-packed" scene didn't solve the mystery; that comes in the aftermath.

Most of the story was taken up with Karen's wedding, Sly's long-lost love, and Glory's efforts to build her business. We get a lot more Bluebeard, too, which is long overdue.

I enjoyed this diversion from the typical cozy formula; it probably wouldn't work all the time, but I thought it was a nice change of pace and watching Glory tie up some of the more irritating loose ends of her life gave a sense of satisfaction that would have made up for the lack of amateur sleuthing, had I felt any such lack.

A good cozy. Bring on more Bluebeard!… (altro)

This is the first book in the A Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery series.

Glory Martine, owns 55% of Southern Treasures in Keyhole Bay, FL. Her cousin Peter owns the 45% and lives in Alabama but still is as close as a phone to "help" Glory run the business. One of the things that came with the shop is Bluebeard, a salty talking parrot. Glory's childhood friend Karen, who is a news reporter for a local radio station, stops by to visit. Glory is busy straightening her inventory that she thinks Bluebeard messed up. On the way back from a trip to the Panhandle, Karen's police scanner goes off reporting a car accident. They get to the scene shortly after the police and see that vehicle is that of a local football star, Kevin Stanley. Stanley is confirmed dead at the scene.

That evening while working in her shop, out of the blue, Bluebeard says "not accident". The uncanny thing is that it sounded just like she remembered her late Uncle Louis sounding. Glory doesn't believe in ghosts, but this is to uncanny to ignore or to share with friends.

The police are playing it close to the vest and not providing much information. The word is that Stanley was at a gathering and had been drinking, but there were some that said he was there but wasn't drinking. The owner a local auto dealership had given Stanley a "lot boy" job at the dealership. Could they have had a disagreement that ended tragically? Or was Stanley letting his "star" status go to his head and the football coach was worried about the team having a successful season.

Glory and Karen have two friends, Ernie and Felipe, with whom they rotate fixing dinner on Thursdays, have their plates full sorting out all the suspects. Glory also enlists the help of Jake, who owns the bookstore across the street.

I really enjoyed this story and it was a quick read. Very enjoyable and like-able characters. interesting story and a well developed plot.

Looking forward to the next book.… (altro)