Author: Brianna Bates
Genre: Mystery
Digital Book
ASIN #: B019XDXDEY
Independently Published
190 Pages
$2.99 Amazon
January 15, 2016
⭐⭐⭐
Oh, no! Not a self-published cozy as a book club selection! So thinks snarky Anne, the snottiest member of the contentious book club author Brianna Bates has so slyly created. Member Noreen feels -- really strongly! -- that Anne's a big old rich-witch snob. But seriously -- is that a motive for murder?
It has to be asked! Because Anne's lying dead in the library parking lot, only minutes after she and Noreen nearly come to blows over the value of "literature" over "genre." A nasty catfight if you were there -- but as yummy as the club's favorite Pinot Grigio if you're lucky enough to be reading about it!
The timing's unfortunate, but maybe it's not the only motive for murder. It seems Anne had more or less gone out of her way to offend every single woman in the book club. She had stolen someone's boyfriend and married him, bought land another wanted, and fired a third member's brother. The kind of woman whose every cashmere sweater has a target on it.
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All Missy DeMeanor wants to do is get through the book club's choice of book and have a nice discussion. Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible. Member Anne Baxter is having a nasty argument with Missy's best friend Noreen, and neither one is willing to give an inch. Finally, a time-out is called, and the two go their separate ways. But when book club once again resumes, Anne is nowhere to be found...until one of her own friends finds her dead behind the library. Now, Noreen doesn't have a solid alibi, and when she's arrested for the murder of the woman, Missy has no choice but to find the real killer...
This is the second book in the series, and since these are easy, quick reads, I wanted to continue. What I was bothered with was the fact that after Missy finds out Noreen slept with Ty -- even though the two were broken up at the time -- Missy just forgave her. Didn't Noreen know how Missy felt about Ty? Of course she did -- and still made the decision to date him. Really? Best friends do NOT do that to each other. I would have not helped Noreen, ghosted Ty, and written them both off. No one needs friends like this. A good friend cares about your feelings. Sorry, but that seemed off.
The second thing was I really didn't think that the police had enough to charge Noreen, and trials don't work that fast. Sometimes it takes months to get into a courtroom. So she still should have been sitting in jail. Sorry, that didn't ring true, either. (I know it's a book, but please, do research).
The fact that Missy would just leave her job to look for a killer was not right. She had the responsibility after Brett asked her, and she should have taken it seriously. It seems that she's looking at the bookstore as just a hobby instead of a job. Either you have responsibility or you don't. Period.
If Missy is bothered by her weight, she needs to stop complaining and do something about it. "Get out of the way, you whale!" Really? How big is Missy? 'Voluptuous' implies Sophia Loren, who is far from fat. So which is it? It got old after awhile.
So you can see that this was not a popular entry to the series for me. However, as the book touted repeatedly, an independently published book does have value (and I do read as many of them as those by the big name publishers) and none should be panned without thinking about it. So I have rated this accordingly.
I did like the plot line, I liked the fact that Missy is fiercely loyal to her friends, and has a good relationship with her mother. I knew who the killer was before she did, but then again, I read a lot of mysteries, so there's that. I liked the ending, and since I've started the series, I will continue to finish it.
More on Brianna Bates's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/
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