Amateurish writing and boring details about the baby ruined this story. The plot was one dimensional with little to no character development to engage the reader. The various supporting characters were somewhat indistinguishable. Her main character's snooping and thoughtless risk-taking made it difficult to care much about how the murder mystery is resolved.
Rosett's recent High Society Lady Detective series is so much better written and leads one to wonder if the same person wrote this Ellie Avery book. As well, it was plainly evident that the author did no research into the setting. Washington state is nothing like her descriptions, which severely detracted from trusting the military-life characterizations. ( )

Ellie Avery and her husband, Mitch, are settling into their new house in Vernon, Washington with their baby, Livvy. Mitch is a pilot in the Air Force, and Ellie is used to frequent moves. Ellie is glad to be living off-base this time, but she is appalled to learn a good number of Mitch's squadron members live in her neighborhood of Black Rock Hill. Ellie thought they'd be getting away from the base instead of living next to Mitch's co-workers and bosses. At least her good friend, Abby, and Abby's husband, Jeff, live nearby.

Ellie isn't in Vernon long when she and Abby are nearly hit by a run-away van, driven by Cass Vincent. It transpires that the van had its brakes and steering tampered with. Cass is nosy, and Ellie is put off by her attitude. Abby is determined to get involved in military life and mingle with the spouses of military members. Ellie isn't big on the idea, but she agrees to attend a spouse coffee at Cass's house with Abby and while there, finds herself volunteering to help with the fundraising garage sale. Later, Ellie finds herself at a squadron barbecue and notices a confrontation between Cass and Jeff. Driving home, Ellie finds Cass's van in the ditch and Cass at the bottom of the drop, dead. Cass died from an allergic reaction to wasp stings. When Ellie picks up Cass's van for Cass's husband, she decides to run it through the car wash and clean the inside. It is then she notices a Coke can in the van with wasps in it. Could someone have wanted to kill Cass? Why are Cass's EpiPens not in the van glove compartment or her purse? Ellie is more and more convinced Cass was murdered.

Break-ins start happening at the Vincents' house, which Ellie agreed to watch while her husband is out of town planning Cass's funeral. Then, minor mishaps start happening to Ellie, at home and in her car. When Ellie's house is broken into, she feels violated and more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Ellie's digging turns up real estate deals, affairs, and other secrets. Everyone seems to have something to hide, but who would kill to protect their secret? If she doesn't get to the bottom of this, Ellie fears she will be next on the killer's list.

I enjoyed reading this book. Ellie is a likeable protagonist. Even though I figured out the murderer before the big reveal at the end of the book, it was a good, cozy read. I also enjoyed reliving those early days of motherhood as Ellie balanced detecting with caring for her baby daughter. I am definitely going to read the next book in this series. ( )

Good entry mystery. Nice details on life as an Air Force wife and life in the squadron. ( )

First Line: Light bled across the horizon, but it was still night below the towering pines where the figure in black slipped up the driveway toward the slumbering house and slithered under the parked minivan.


Being an Air Force wife can mean a lot of moves in a short period of time-- like four times in five years. This time Ellie Avery has to do it with a newborn baby during a heat wave. Fortunately Ellie is a professional organizer, but one thing she and her husband Mitch didn't count on with all their careful planning is moving into an off-base neighborhood that's filled with fellow Air Force families. They were really wanting to get away from that, but it's just not going to happen. To top things off, Ellie finds the body of neighborhood activist Cass Vincent whose death-- police say-- was due to wasp stings, to which she was fatally allergic. But things don't add up to Ellie, and she begins to conduct her own investigation to find out what really happened to Cass.

Ellie is a likable young woman, but following her around can exhaust you. Trying to get settled in a new area, get acquainted with new people, get everything unpacked and in their proper places, keep her husband, baby, and the officers' wives happy all during a heat wave? Definitely not an easy assignment! Thankfully Ellie's organizing skills help make a few things smooth sailing because she's a natural-born nosy kind of person whose amateur investigative techniques are very crude and tend to put her in unnecessary danger.

This is a first book, and it shows a bit. The plot is slow to take off, but once it does, it fully engages interest. Ellie and Mitch are really the only two fully fleshed characters, although Rosett has set up some secondary characters well for future books. The appeal of this book is Ellie (who's bright and funny) and the insight it gives into the life of a military wife. I would also recommend Rosett's organizational tips for anyone who'll be moving: they're concise and chock-full of good sense. This first book and the series as a whole shows a lot of promise, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Ellie Avery. ( )

Ellie is an appealing heroine - new mom coping with another military move, community volunteerism (albeit forced!) and the occasional random murder! The moving tips are smart and the mystery itself has lots of twists and turns, which made the story a quick read. ( )