Author: Chelsea Thomas
Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9798460934966
Independently Published
258 Pages
$12.99; $5.99 Amazon
September 20, 2021
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Murder Ruins Everything.
It's the start of fall in Pine Grove, which means the leaves are vibrant, the coffee is warm, and the days are crisp and cool. Autumn really is the best season in upstate New York.
But bottle blonde Teeny has her 65th birthday coming up, and for her, that's ruining all the good stuff about fall. Teeny HATES her birthday, and she doesn't want anyone to know how old she is.
But then one of Teeny's many evil exes turns up in town -- with an enormous birthday float -- and makes a big deal of Teeny's upcoming birthday in front of everyone in town.
The nerve of this guy!
Teeny is furious, of course, and she dresses the guy down in front of half the town. But then the evil ex turns up dead at a hot new local bakery, and Chief Flanagan identifies TEENY as the top suspect in the murder...
It's up to Chelsea and Miss May to solve the murder. Because if they don't catch the real killer soon, Teeny is going to have to spend her birthday alone in JAIL. No one wants that.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Chelsea, Miss May, and Teeny are at a local coffee house when they see a man sitting at a table in the far corner. Teeny immediately recognizes him as one of the magicians she dated in the past. The Great Gregory apparently left things in tatters with her, and when she confronts him, all she wants is some money that she lent him, which he refuses to acknowledge. After the blowup, they go to see her sister Peach, who admits she hired him for Teeny's "surprise" birthday party.
Teeny is definitely angry and refuses to attend the party, but Chelsea and Miss May talk her into it. Bad idea. When Gregory is found dead by Chelsea, Teeny is the main suspect. Now the three women have to once again start a murder investigation to find a killer, or Teeny won't have this birthday or any other in the company of her friends...
This is the fourteenth book in the series, and I must admit that I haven't read any of the others. I know, I know...but now that I've read this one, I've already got the first and am going back to start at the beginning. That's how good this book is.
The three women are a hoot, each in their own way. Miss May is no nonsense, and she wants everything done the way she expects -- even if she comes up with ideas that don't seem practical. Teeny is a cook who takes her frustrations out on the people who come to her restaurant -- even if her recipes are bad ideas. And Chelsea just goes along with it all -- even when very strange words come out of her mouth at the most inopportune times. She just isn't good at thinking on her feet. Oh well...
Together these three women make the strangest team of crime fighters that I've ever come across. And also the most endearing. They are funny, loyal, caring, and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Even if the police can't. Because the police are a tad inept. Not that it matters. Chelsea is dating a detective, and while he's cute, he's not sharing information, so the three are on their own....trying to figure out if another magician killed Gregory...
Because that's the direction the investigation is going, but they're not sure how to find out who wanted him dead. His assistant, who wants to do magic on her own? His agent, who had a beef with him? Or another magician, because he wasn't well liked? With a plethora of suspects, and a lack of clues, they set forth to the big city (Manhattan) and are determined to find out. Unfortunately, the killer would rather they didn't -- and is willing to kill again to keep a secret.
When the ending comes, whether it's a surprise or not doesn't matter, because it's fun to watch how they put thing together and come out on top. Yes, there is a surprise twist, but even that is interesting to see when we find out the truth of the matter. Once again, everything is fine in Pine Grove...at least for the time being. Highly recommended.
More on Chelsea Thomas's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/chelsea-thomas/
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