Author: Julia Koty
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781939309150
Busstop Press
158 Pages
$9.99; $3.99 Amazon
June 21, 2022
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pleasant Pond has another murder. This time the body is found at the local paint-your-own pottery shop. Mira and Aerie know what it's like to worry about a small business going under and they are determined to help solve this mystery. But with so many possible suspects, including Chelsea, it's going to prove harder to do than they thought. And when another murder happens in the nearby town Dan even concedes to help Mira find the killer...as long as she can manage to stay out of danger.
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Mira Michaels is living in the small town of Pleasant Pond. She works at a local diner and has a Victorian home she's restoring bit by bit. She also has a menagerie of pets -- including her cat Arnold, whom she can talk with. Yes, with, not to. It makes for an interesting life. Oh -- did I mention she has a habit of stumbling over dead bodies every now and then?
This time, she doesn't, but she gets involved anyway, because when the body of a local is discovered at a paint-your-own pottery shop, she and her partner-in-crime (and owner of said diner) Aerie, know what it's like to have your business suffer because of a nasty murder. So naturally, they vow to help her find the killer. Even if the police don't want her to. Or even if she puts herself in the way of a killer...
The other little problem Mira has is that there are a few men who might be interested in her, and while she protests that she's not interested, it doesn't stop Aerie from trying to push her in their direction, hoping she'll choose one. Then there's the package her psychic sister Darla sent her; she knows she has to open it eventually. Oh, and her resident ghost Clara seems to want some attention, too...
This is the sixth book in the series and I have read them all. I have to say that I am getting quite cozy with the characters, wondering what each book will find them involved in. This book is no different. Mira and Aerie are searching for someone who could have killed the young woman, but their search brings them suspects that they don't want to believe are guilty. Is it the best friend? The husband? Or even Jay's girlfriend Chelsea, who is definitely hiding something. But when another body is found, they have to rethink their entire process, and even Detective Dan is stumped and actually asks Mira to help (as long as she stays out of danger. Yeah, right).
It's a fun caper of a read, with Mira and Aerie at their best; it even shows a softer side to a couple of the characters, and of course, there are a couple of scenes that has Mira beating a hasty retreat behind her personal walls -- which, I hope, we'll see pushed away in a later book. There's a lot going on here besides murder. There are clues to the murderer; you just have to look for them. And they almost caught me unawares, but in the end, I prevailed along with Mira. I just knew that no matter what, being the reader and not the character, I was safe from danger (ha).
When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's an interesting climax that has one wondering how it's all going to end. I can tell you that it is definitely worth the read, and Ms. Koty definitely knows her characters well! It also gives us a teaser of what we might have in the next in the series. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy from the author but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Julia Koty's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/julia-koty/
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