Saturday, November 24, 2018

A Vintage Death - Cozy Mystery Review


Rating: Very Good
Source: NetGalley

Description:  As the new owner of a music box store in Keepsake Cove, a quaint town full of collectible shops on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Callie Reed is eager to get more involved in her community. So she volunteers to plan the fall street decorations and welcome a visiting author who's come for a special book signing. But the celebratory mood is cut short when the local B&B owner is found dead, killed with a pair of vintage scissors.

Suspicion is cast on the victim's estranged wife, Dorothy, who owns Keepsake Cove's vintage sewing shop. Callie is sure Dorothy is innocent, and the visiting author agrees. Together, they begin their own investigation, only to discover that many people in Keepsake Cove have secrets. Secrets that are worth killing to keep.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:

My Impression: 
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series about a little Maryland town filled with curio shops of all different times.  I really loved catching up with Callie, Tabitha, and Brian.  Callie has really come into her own since the beginning of her first book and it's nice to see her have a bit more backbone when it comes to dealing with her ex.  Her relationship with Brian is also really sweet and I'm glad to see them together.  I loved the addition of thriller writer, Lyssa Hammond.  She and Callie really made a fun team as they tried to solve the murder and I liked the added depth we got for her character.  Never have more people had reason to kill a murder victim than Clifford Ashby.  He's such an awful little man and as we learn more and more about him that impression doesn't get better.  The mystery was one that really kept me guessing and it could have gone so many ways!  I would have liked a little more backstory when the reveal itself actually happens.  I had a clear understanding as to the whos, whats, and whys but I just wanted a little more.

This is a really fun series with characters I really enjoy getting to know and a solid mystery.  I really enjoy the music box store setting and Tabitha's ever changing costumes.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?
Absolutely!  I'm a little worried as the Midnight Ink imprint has gone out of business so I'm afraid this will be the end of the series but I'll still read anything that Mary Ellen Hughes writes.

Would I Recommend this Book?
  Definitely!  This is a fun cozy series that you could start here though I highly recommend the first book as well.

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

4 comments:

  1. I hope you'll be able to read more from this author!

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  2. Nice that this one was pretty good! Hopefully the series can continue in spite of the publisher issues...

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  3. Sounds like a nice series! I hope Ms. Hughes is able to find another publisher. It's so sad about Midnight Ink; I really liked their books. Perhaps Crooked Lane will pick some of the series up.

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  4. Yay for a cozy mystery that has substance and good characters. I will see if I have this one on my TBR; probably most likely as you're my usual cozy enabler. ^__^
    Thanks for your thoughts during the two weeks of the Camp Fire. And I look forward to reading more of that witch series.

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