Monday, August 11, 2014

Mission to Murder

Author:  Lynn Cahoon
Genre:  Mystery

Five Stars

In the California coastal town of South Cove, history is one of its many tourist attractions—until it becomes deadly…
Jill Gardner, proprietor of Coffee, Books, and More, has discovered that the old stone wall on her property might be a centuries-old mission worthy of being declared a landmark. But Craig Morgan, the obnoxious owner of South Cove’s most popular tourist spot, The Castle, makes it his business to contest her claim. When Morgan is found murdered at The Castle shortly after a heated argument with Jill, even her detective boyfriend has to ask her for an alibi. Jill decides she must find the real murderer to clear her name. But when the killer comes for her, she’ll need to jump from historic preservation to self-preservation.

********

Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, is having a problem.  It appears that her newly-discovered mission wall may be fake.  Craig Morgan, owner of The Castle, a popular tourist stop, has declared that the real mission used to stand in the exact spot of where city hall is.  He says he has proof, and even the mayor is on his side.

Shortly after a very public fight with Craig regarding funding and the wall, he is found murdered on the grounds of the castle.  Since there were two, not one, public fights, she is again at the head of the suspect list of murdering him.  But she knows she's not guilty, and so does Greg King, her police detective boyfriend.  The problem lies with having to find out who the real killer is.

This book was so enjoyable I didn't put it down until I was finished.  The plot was interesting, as were the subplots: her friend Amy's relationship with boyfriend Hank; her Aunt Jackie's wannabe suitor; and handsome officer Troy's 'female following'.  They alone were worth reading the book.  It's nice to read a mystery that doesn't completely focus on the main character all the time, but it was also nice to watch the relationship between Jill and Greg move on, albeit ever so slowly.

Even while following the clues, I still had no idea who the murderer was.  There wasn't anything really solid pointing to that fact, and only a tiny hint of a possibility.  This is a good thing.  I really dislike it when I've figured out the murderer shortly after the deed is done, as it were; but there is no chance with this; it was definitely written so that you don't discover it too soon.  And when the pieces fell into place, what a nice little puzzle it turned out to be.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Murder-Tourist-Trap-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00IO3QR98/

No comments:

Post a Comment

A Corpse Among the Carolers

A Food Blogger Mystery Book 7 Author:     Debra Sennefelder Genre:      Mystery Paperback; Digital Book ISBN #:     9781960511928 Beyond The...