Monday, March 20, 2023

Strike Out 4 Murder - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Strike Out 4 Murder (A Sophie Kimball Mystery #11) by J.C. Eaton

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  When softball fever overtakes Sun City West, foul balls and foul play add up to murder . . .

When a member of the local pinochle club rallies everyone in the community to come cheer on the softball team he’s joined, Sophie “Phee” Kimball can’t imagine a worse way to spend a free afternoon. But before anyone can take them out to the ball game, her mother’s friend Shirley spots a dead body, only to have it vanish before anyone else sees it. Soon Shirley and her friends can’t decide whether she’s losing her marbles or being stalked by the living dead—until an attempt is made on her life.

Wondering if the body Shirley saw belongs to a missing ballplayer who may have been murdered, Phee begins to suspect that Shirley’s in danger from a menacing killer. Following the clues at the ball park and eyeing the crowd for a likely perpetrator, she devises a clever scheme to sniff out the culprit, but she’ll have to act fast before she strikes out for the last time!

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series so of course I had to pick this one up.

My Impression: I am undecided as to whether I want to retire to some place like Sun City West.  The good thing is I would never ever be bored and the bad thing is I would never ever be bored!  There is always something going on and lots of gossiping and in between all the events and clubs and gossip there are frequently murders.  In this new adventure book club member Shirley seems to be tripping over dead bodies but the problem is they don't seem to be staying put.  Since Shirley is one of Phee's mother's more reliable friends Phee takes her seriously and is soon plunged into an investigation trying to figure out just what is going on.  

With Phee's husband Marshall and boss Nate (the Private Investigators of the business) are out of town Phee is mostly investigating on her own with the help of Phee's friends Augusta and Lindy and book group and pinochle club from Sun City West.  Chaos ensues though Phee's mom's dog, Streetman, isn't even responsible for most of it!  Paul and Lindy have been side characters in most of the books of this series but in this book they take more active roles and we get to know them a bit better which was fun.  I did guess some of what was going on before the end but I had such a good time getting to the reveal it didn't bother me.

If you like quirky cozies with plenty of hijinks and chaos this is a fun series that is always enjoyable!  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  These mysteries aren't perfect but they're always such fun and I will always grab the next book.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would!  This is a quirky series but lots of fun.  It's probably better when read in order but the mysteries do stand on their own.

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

3 comments:

  1. I'd read this book just because of the adorable cover! Nice review.

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  2. I really have to catch up with this series. It sounds so good.

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  3. This sounds like something that I would like. I have to admit that I would probably pick it up for the cover alone.

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