The Last Word - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: The Last Word by Gerri Lewis

Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Obituary writer Winter Snow is no stranger to grief, and writing obituaries for the citizens of Ridgefield, Connecticut, is her way of providing comfort to those who have been in her shoes. But funerals and eulogies are meant for the dead, so when the very much alive Leocadia Arlington requests her own obituary by the end of the week, Winter’s curiosity is piqued. Even more so when she finds Mrs. Arlington dead soon after. Officer Kip Michaels and his relentless partner Tom Bellini make it clear that Winter is under suspicion for the death.

Drafting an obituary for someone who hadn’t died yet certainly looks bad, but Winter knows that it wasn’t her, and she becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the real killer. She dives headfirst into the investigation to give Mrs. Arlington and herself some peace. When Winter realizes Mrs. Arlington was working on a revealing memoir that has now gone missing, Winter begins to wonder if the death wasn’t exactly random–accident or otherwise.

With the help of her foodie Uncle Richard, her wise octogenarian neighbor Horace, her best friend Scoop, and Diva, the Great Pyrenees puppy she inherited from Mrs. Arlington, Winter must uncover the killer before the next obituary written is her own.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  The first in a new cozy series, a dog on the cover, and unusual job for the main character - how could I resist?

My Impression: There was a lot I liked about this series.  I like Winter's close relationship with her uncle and her friend Scoop's ability to find out all kinds of information.  I have a serious weakness for Great Pyrenees and I love books involving digging into someone's past.   Winter's profession of writing obituaries is an interesting one and works well for amateur sleuthing.  The mystery itself was an interesting one that did make me guess a bit and I enjoyed Winter's investigation.

That said I found the pacing on this one a bit slow.  I understand that there's a decent amount of world building that needs to be done in the first book in the series but this skirted the line into tedious at times.   I felt a bit like I was being told what Winter was doing instead of following along with her.  

I like the premise and the characters enough to pick up the next book in the series and I'm just hoping the pacing there will be a bit faster.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? I will definitely give the series another try.

Would I Recommend this Book?  Yes with some caveats about the pacing.

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