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Friday, December 28, 2018

She Stopped for Death - Cozy Mystery


Rating: Very Good
Source: Purchased (Audible)

Description: 
Jenny Weston and her mother, Dora, have been receiving strange midnight visits. Bear Falls's own elusive and highly secretive poet, Emily Sutton, has lived her life cloistered away with her sister in a house at the edge of Pewee Swamp. But now, Emily's started leaving scraps of poetry in Dora's Little Library, and Dora makes it her mission to befriend the sheltered woman.

Meanwhile Zoe Zola, almost famous author, Little Person, and the Weston's quirky next-door neighbor, is hard at work on a new book, this one about the inner life of Emily Dickinson. And once again, Zoe's literary work starts making uncanny connections with the events in her own world as Emily Sutton reemerges into society. But Zoe begins to suspect things aren't anywhere near normal at Emily's swamp house or in the lives of the people she claims have abandoned her...until looking further into the poet's half-truths leads Zoe and Jenny to a horrible murder.

The chaos surrounding the ensuing investigation grows even more hectic with Emily’s increasingly erratic behavior, the arrival of a young woman searching for her missing poet uncle, and yet another betrayal in Jenny's love life. And only poetry can set the truth free in Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's charming second Little Library mystery, She Stopped for Death.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:
  I enjoyed the first book and was curious to see just what would happen next.

My Impression:  This was a fun 2nd entry into a different and entertaining series.  I love the literary mentions - in this case most relate to Emily Dickinson - and how they're woven through the book.  I also really enjoy spending time with Zoe Zoella, Dora Weston, and seeing what the other quirky resident of Bear Falls are up to.  The main character, Jenny, can be a little challenging.  She tends to be a bit whiny and is stuck in limbo right now.  She can be more than a bit defensive when anyone suggests she make some kind of plan which can makes me want to shake her at times.  However, there is some growth in this one that has me really excited to see what happens next for Jenny.

The mystery is intriguing.  I did have a pretty good guess as to how it was going to all work out but I thoroughly enjoyed investigating all the possibilities.  This is a fun series with literary and fairy tale touches.  While Jenny sometimes needs a good shake I can understand her actions and I love the rest of the characters.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in this fun quirky series next!

Audio Note:  This is narrated by Marguerite Gavin and I really enjoyed her performance.  She was animated without being dramatic and read at a nice pace.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?
  I would.  I have the 3rd book and am looking forward to reading it!

Would I Recommend this Book?
  If you like cozies with a literary bent I definitely recommend this series.  While you can jump in here I do think it'd be better to start at the beginning.

3 comments:

  1. This sounds right up my alley!! Thanks for putting it on my radar!! :)

    Erica | Erica Robyn Reads

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  2. Oh sounds like you hit the jackpot with this audiobook. And the literary links to Emily Dickinson would be interesting.

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  3. Definitely checking this series out.

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