Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Trade Paperback: Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781635115826; 9781635115796
Henery Press Publishing
258 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
March 3, 2020
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Broke, unemployed barista Halley Greer is shocked when she inherits an Art Deco movie palace from the great uncle she remembers meeting once as a child. She moves to the charming tourist town of Utopia Springs, Arkansas to claim her legacy.
In addition to the timeworn theater, she discovers she's also inherited a trash-heaped apartment, family secrets, her uncle's friends, a stealthy calico kitty -- and an adversary.
With a whole latte help from her new friends, the feisty barista fixes up and re-opens the theater as a coffee and wine bar, showing classic films. She generates some steam with a hunky local -- and risks getting burned. The opening night of My Fair Lady looks like a big hit, and her new life feels like a bit of movie magic, until a customer turns up dead during intermission.
With the cops eyeing her as a suspect, Halley digs into the victim's life and runs into a tangle of blackmail and secrets. Can Hailey and her friends unmask a killer before the curtain comes down for keeps?
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Halley Greer didn't even know her great-uncle Leon - but he's left her everything he had, which includes not only an old Art Doc movie palace, his apartment, boxes of his belongings, and a calico cat named Eartha Kitty. Now she's moved to Utopia Springs, Arkansas to see if she can make a go of it.
Luckily, she's also inherited his best friends, George and Trudy Mayfield, who have made her feel welcome and introduced her to others, especially Kendra, who's Halley's age and owns Escape Rooms across the street. While she and Kendra have become fast friends, Halley's decided to make the movie theater her own by offering a coffee and wine bar (and of course, movie snacks) along with the classic movies she intends to show, beginning with My Fair Lady.
What she doesn't count on is a dead body on opening night. Or the fact that she's seen the man before, peeking in her windows. Or the fact that the police think she's the main suspect. So she and Kendra, along with a bit of help from Trudy and George, decide to hunt down the killer on their own- discreetly, of course. But when Halley realizes that the police are onto them, they realize they need to up their game..but then again, so does the killer...
This is the first in a new series by Vicki Fee, who is a talented writer. Even if you're not interested in classic movies (as I am), you should find this interesting. Halley has a troubled past and is slightly broken emotionally, which makes her eager to reach out to the new people around her who want to become part of her new life. It's subtle but lovely to watch.
The mystery itself is shrouded not only in the present, but the past also and comes off as completely believable. Old stories and legends surround many areas of the country, and this one could be part of that. I do love old legends and read about them frequently.
Much of the book is about Halley establishing her new life; deciding what will work in her theater as she meets the people of Utopia Springs; but it also brings her in contact with those same people who could, just as well, have one of them as the murderer. While we aren't given a lot of background on many of those, we do learn about both Halley and Kendra's past, and it explains a lot about the people they are. George and Trudy are a hoot, and I love the fact that they're playing major roles in the book.
When Halley discovers the murderer, it comes as a bit of a surprise, but the clues are there if you look for them. I do like how the climax came about, and the reason for the murder was, while as old as time, thoroughly convincing. This is a delightful start to a new series and I wait eagerly for the next. Highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Fair-Latte-Caf%C3%A9-Cinema-Mystery/dp/1635115795/ref=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3186349302
More on Vickie Fee's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/vickie-fee/
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