Chloe Boston wants to be a police detective. Instead, she's a meter maid.

She's very smart, very capable, and very tiny. At 98 pounds, she will never meet the police physical requirement of being able to lift 100 pounds. But she's the daughter of the former chief of police in her town of Hope Falls, and initially at least, that was a little bit of an advantage and she managed to land the meter maid job.

But Daddy wasn't a very good cop, and especially not a good chief of police, and he's been forced out. Chloe was mocked for her tiny frame and her connection to the chief while her father was in office; now it's worse.

And now her best friend on the force, Jeffrey Little, her fellow parking enforcement officer, has disappeared, and no one is taking it seriously. Chloe decides to launch her own investigation.

Initially, at least, this is a frustrating book. Chloe isn't just small and smart and determined; she's also a bit awkward in interpersonal skills, and capable of a certain degree of obliviousness to whether or not her very clear logic is altogether reasonable. It makes her, initially, a little hard to like.

But she also goes to great lengths to bring her rescue Rottie, Blue, with her everywhere--including in the electric vehicle in which she patrols the town giving out parking tickets. She reads. She's loyal to her friends. She's kind. She's very certain of her intelligence and logic, but aware of her failings and insecure in quite recognizable ways.

Did I mention loyal to her friends?

Chloe grew on me a lot, over the course of the book.

Recommended if you enjoy cozies.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. ( )

I had some trouble starting off in the first chapter. I think the first couple of chapters could have used better editing. Not wanting to give up on it, I kept reading and found the book quite enjoyable. The first part of the book gives you the impression that Chloe is a 98-pound weakling, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Which is a good thing for me since I can't stand weak women! Chloe kicks butt, though and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series. ( )