Cold as Ice - Cozy Mystery Review

Cold as Ice (Country Club Murders #6) by Julie Mulhern (Amazon Link)

Rating: Loved it!
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Ellison Russell’s life resembles a rollercoaster ride. And rollercoasters make her ill. Her daughter Grace has a crush on a boy Ellison doesn’t trust and she’s taken to hosting wild parties when Ellison goes out for the evening. Worse, the bank which represents Grace’s inheritance from her father may be in trouble.

When a meeting with the chef at the country club leads to the discovery of a body, Ellison can’t afford cold feet. She must save the bank, find the killer, and convince Grace (and herself) that powerful women don’t need men to rescue them.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book: This is one of my absolute favorite cozy mystery series and I can never resist the newest one.

My Impression:  I feel like every time I review a book in this series I declare it my new favorite but this time I really mean it.  This was definitely my favorite of the series and considering how much I enjoyed all the previous books that's saying quite a lot.

The mystery was very personal to Ellison and her motives for fining out just who was the killer were stronger than just stumbling over the body.  There's also quite a lot of intrigue going on at Ellison's late husband's bank which now belongs to Ellison's daughter Grace.  Ellison is determined that Grace's inheritance from her father will not disappear.  With each book Ellison seems to be getting a little more confident and a little more capable which is really fun to see.  She's learning to figure out how to solve her own problems and channel her mother when she needs too.  There's a lot of character development here both with Ellison and Grace and I was completely pulled in.  They both feel like friends and I enjoy the time I spend with them.

The mystery isn't as front and center as I usually prefer in a mystery but it was good and well constructed.  I didn't know just who the killer was until the very end - though I did have a guess or two.  I would have liked more explanation into the some of the motives but I was satisfied with the wrap up.  This kept me reading far later than I intended because I had to know what happened and I didn't want my time with Ellison or Grace to end.  This read was a complete delight!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Yes!  I can't wait for the next one!

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you are a mystery fan you really must try this series.  I don't think you would be disappointed.  While I do think you could start here without too much trouble I think it would be even better to go back to the beginning so you can get to know all the characters.