Lisa Haneberg

I was provided with a review copy. All opinions are my own.

Tell me you're a cozy mystery without TELLING me you're a cozy mystery!

You've got
- a MC who owns a spy shop an is a private eye (and has a corporate account with Moon Pie because she eats so many while solving mysteries)
- loads of quirky townspeople/side characters
- a mysterious death that involves a pest control guy named Rodent Roger...green iguanas

Oh, and there's also an outrageous cruise ship with, erm, interesting characters and dining options and room types (including an epic bed in a master suite that causes a volcano in the lobby to erupt when it is..um..rocked enough.

Stiff Lizard has all the earmarks of a great cozy and amps up the fun. This was a fast-paced story that had me laughing out loud. I loved how the MC Xena broke the fourth wall from time to time to answer a question that is probably on the readers mind (and sometimes wasn't but probably should have been). She's a pretty compelling, intimidating main character, and I love the relationship she had with the co-workers in her spy shop.

This book is part of a series, but I really don't think you need to have read the previous books to know what is going on. The author does make references to situations that happened in earlier books (but more of a tease to make you want to read them - they really don't affect the plot. It worked, because now I want more.)

The dialogue is quick and the plot moved quickly - I read this in one snort-filled sitting. The characters are vividly imagined and unique, and she does a great job with descriptions of her Galveston setting.

All in all, this was an easy-t0-read, fun mystery. I'll be back for more.… (altro)