Author: Mildred Abbott
Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781973449294
280 Pages
Independently Published
$13.99; $.99 Amazon
December 5, 2017
⭐
Estes Park, Colorado: picturesque mountains, charming shops, delightful bakeries, a cozy bookstore...and murder.
Winifred Page and her corgi, Watson, move to Estes Park to hit the reset button on life. Fred is about to open her dream bookshop, and the only challenges she anticipates are adjusting to small-town life, tourists, and living close to her loveable mother, Phyllis, and hippie stepfather, Barry.
When Fred steps into her soon-to-be bookshop for the first time, she expects dust bunnies and spiders...not the dead body in the upstairs kitchen. The local police have an easy suspect -- Barry.
Determined to prove quirky Barry innocent of murder, Fred puts on her detective hat, and with Watson by her side, she explores her new town and gets acquainted with her fellow shopkeepers. Could one of her frienndly neighbors be the real culprit? And what would be the motive for killing the owner of the Sinful Bites candy store? The secrets Fred discover put her at odds with the local police sergeant and threaten her cozy future in Estes.
With snow falling outside, all Fred wants to do is curl up by the fire with a good book and Watson snuggled at her feet. But before she can begin her new life and put her plans for her bookshop into action, Fred and Watson have a mystery to solve
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When Winifred 'Fred' Page moves home to Estes Park, Colorado, it's because her business arrangement with her best friend came to a halt. Now she's decided to open her dream bookstore, the property given to her by her stepfather, Barry. When she tours the inside, she discovers the body of the baker next door, Opal. When the police suspect Barry of killing the woman, Fred knows that she - along with her corgi, Watson - need to step in and find a killer before Barry is incarcerated and her mother's heart broken. But can she do so without the killer finding her first?
Oh, dear. I had hopes for this series, with the cute corgi on the cover. However, those hopes were quickly dashed. Partly because I don't like drug use of any kind. (Personal and part of my people, so I am not explaining). There are other things to take to help you sleep. I use milk every night. Works like a charm! But trying to justify it here isn't helping me like this tale at all.
Then there's the fact that a 38-year-old woman, who's an ex-professor and ex-big business owner, would turn to jelly when an attractive man was around. Are we sure she's 38? Why is she acting like a teenager who got her first crush? Twice yet. Speaking of that, I absolutely ABHOR love triangles, which I've noted in many reviews. Even if it's eventually resolved, we would have to go through the excruciating term of her deciding who she wanted. No thank you.
Then there's another peeve of mine: the 'evil nemesis' which shows up right away in the female police officer. Why? You don't need an evil nemesis to write a good book. There are many out there that don't have them and are wonderful to read. So this is strike three for the book. But there are so many other things - her mother and Barry, whom couldn't find the bathroom if they needed it. They are both flaky and I would move far, far away to get away from either of them. Talk about annoying characters. The author also added things in the book that didn't have anything to do with the story, and it detracted from the mystery. You'll know what they are when you read it.
I also knew who the killer was the minute they stepped foot on the page. Maybe because I read a lot of mysteries, maybe because it was pretty obvious. This author obviously doesn't like women, since they were all written as strange, but the men were practically perfect. I really hate dinging authors on first books, and I try to give them a pass, but there is no way I will be reading any more of these in the future. Just no.
More on Mildred Abbott's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/mildred-abbott/
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