Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Secrets in the Stacks - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Secrets in the Stacks (A Survivor's Book Club Mystery #2) by Lynn Cahoon

Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
Source:  Publisher

Description:  After an ominous Tarot reading, Sedona bookstore owner Rarity Cole must find a killer to keep her friend safe from harm—even if the cards are stacked against her . . .

Following her recovery from breast cancer, Rarity has embraced a life of healing and service in her Sedona, Arizona, community. She welcomes the opportunity to participate in the annual summer healing fair with her fittingly named new-age bookstore, The Next Chapter. The members of the Tuesday Night Survivors’ Book Club are also volunteering, maintaining a cooling station for overheated festivalgoers, and hosting a Tarot card reader for entertainment.

But one member, Darby, is anything but entertained when the Tarot reader pulls a Death card. With a mammogram coming up, she’s freaked out and goes home—only to walk into a crime scene where someone near and dear to her has been murdered. Despite the objections of Detective Drew Anderson, Rarity is determined to help her friend and protect her from being the killer’s next victim . . .

Genre:  Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I really enjoyed the first book in the series and I've really enjoyed other books by this author.

My Impression:  I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was super excited to pick up the second book.  While I did enjoy it it didn't live up to my expectations and to the first book.  I liked the introduction of Darby and I really enjoy that Rarity is getting more settled into the community of Sedona.  As well, I like that she worries about sales and keeping her business running.  It feels a bit more realistic then having a new business owner having everything be unicorns and rainbows and prosperity.

My main issue was that I really missed the book club investigating together and discussing it in meetings.  They did investigate but we mostly see things through Rarity's head or them interacting as they pass each other helping Darby out.  Holly and Malia were such side characters that I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and it didn't feel like they really contributed anything.  I also never really felt that the situation with Darby's parents was ever explained in a way that made any sense.  

While I did guess several plot points fairly early in the book I enjoyed Cahoon's writing style and spending time with the characters so much that that didn't bother me.  I'm looking forward to the next book and am hoping that the book club will all play a bigger role in the investigating.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I really enjoy this author's books and am looking forward to seeing how this series develops.

Would I Recommend this Book? Yes definitely though I would recommend starting with the first book.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

7 comments:

  1. Second books sometimes don't live up to the first books in a series, but I always have hope they'll be just as good. :D

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  2. I'm glad you did enjoy this a bit. I hope the next book is a bit better.

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  3. I did enjoy this one and the community feel, especially the elderly man next door and of course Killer! And will read the next one. The suspicious guy who is planted early and then doesn't appear for a long time! Radar goes up.

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  4. I love Sedona! It's gorgeous there. This series sounds like it has potential. I might give it a try.

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  5. I still have to read the first one in this series. It looks so good and I love the author.

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  6. I have only read one book by this author but I liked it. This sounds like a good series. Too bad this book wasn't as good as the first one.

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  7. I'm glad to see your thoughts on this one pretty much matched mine. Always nice to see I'm not alone.

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