Crime for the Books by Kate Young

About the Book:

Lyla Moody and her book club, the Jane Does, are hosting a Halloween party at Magnolia Manor, tailored after Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, but when the lights come on after the staged murder, a real victim lies dead with a gunshot wound in her chest. The victim was an estranged relative of Elaine Morgan, operator of the B&B, who’d earlier been seen arguing with her about the fate of the property. Suspicion immediately falls on Elaine, and she’s arrested.

The Jane Does believe Elaine is innocent, and when they get the chance to team up with police officer Rosa Landry—a member of the club—they jump on it. But then, the club discovers that two more murders have been brazenly predicted online and in the Sweet Mountain Gazette—and that one of the intended victims is Rosa.

Lyla thinks she knows who the killer is, but the only way to find out is by laying a trap using Rosa as bait. But, like an Agatha Christie mystery, the truth is never what it seems. Lyla and her trusty book club will have to sleuth out the killer before Rosa meets her final chapter.

My Review:

I read lots of cozy mysteries and Young's Jane Doe Book Club Mystery series is a good one. Lyla is a capable sleuth. She's part of her uncle's private investigation business so she has the training and resources to get information the police may lack. She also has good support personnel in her friend Mel and the book club. I do like that they were brought into service in this novel.

Young gives readers a good balance of relationship issues and investigative action. Lyla seems to be growing into her investigative work. She seems a bit more self assured too, especially in her relationship with her boyfriend, resulting in some relationship drama. Rosa was a bit of an enigma in this novel. I am not sure we ultimately understand all of her behavior. Her character did not seem to ring true to me considering her actions in previous novels.

The plot might be a bit predicable as a murder occurs when the book club hosts a murder party. The villain was perhaps overly characterized. There is a little bit of suspense at the end but mostly just a very readable cozy mystery.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

This is the third novel in this series and you can read my review of the earlier ones: On Borrowed Crime and Reading Between the Crimes.

About the Author:

Kate Young writes cozy and Southern mystery novels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter. She lives in a small town in Georgia with her husband and their three kids. You can find out more at www.kateyoungbooks.com.

Crooked Lane Books, 336 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)