Author: Barbara Cool Lee
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781939527622
Pajaro Bay Publishing
290 Pages
[Various Prices]; $.99 Amazon
July 5, 2021
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maggie McJasper is starting over in a little California beach town. She has a bead shop, a nice circle of friends, and a handsome movie star who keeps flirting with her. Life would be pretty great if she could just stop stumbling over dead bodies...
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Maggie McJasper is the ex-wife of a Hollywood mogul, being divorced all of two weeks. She has a large mansion on the beach -- but, unfortunately, no money to maintain it, so rents it to a friend who is a movie star, Reese Stevens. She also has her ex-husband and his new girlfriend living in another mansion next door. The girlfriend who broke up her marriage. Now Maggie is starting over, beginning with opening a bead shop. However, things are not all good in her life: she finds a dead body in a swimming pool, and from there everything seems to go downhill. Except, of course, for the big dog who's trying to move into her tiny home with her...
This is the first book in a new series, and I really would have liked to have given it five stars. Except I am so tired of protagonists who start over with no money and can barely pay their bills. She was married for ten years to a rich man and never fought for a better deal? What. A. Wimp. The book wouldn't have changed much if she'd gotten enough money to live on -- except she wouldn't be broke. I was hoping for better. I also sense that there might be a love triangle, or at least a love interest, and please, please, don't let it be the cop. It's always the cop they choose, and I am not giving up hope yet that this series might go in another direction.
But aside from this, the book was written well and I indeed did enjoy the plot line. I liked that Maggie wasn't a suspect (another thing that usually happens), and that Lt. Ibarra listened to what she had to say. Maggie is intelligent, attractive, and kind. These three things come through quite nicely.
The mystery was also done well, and gave us clues throughout the book, which Maggie turned over to the police as soon as she had them. That's also a plus. The book kept me interested throughout, wanting to know where the next clue would be and how everything would unfold. When it did, and the murderer was revealed, it was definitely a surprise. The ending was both sad and hopeful, and I will read the next in the series. Recommended
More on Barbara Cool Lee's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/barbara-cool-lee/
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