This book is the epitome of cozy small town murder mystery. There's a mysterious aunt, a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone, a series of secrets and of course, a murder. There’s a lot of in depth description of the town, buildings, food and music that really add to the cozy atmosphere. The main character was a little irritating to me and a lot of her choices were weird. Someone said something suspicious to her, she changes the subject and doesn’t explore it further but also takes it upon herself to investigate other suspects. She gets mysterious threatening phone calls but doesn’t report them. I guess it lends to the progression of the story but it felt a little jarring that her choices were a bit all over the place. At one point I thought there was supposed to be a love triangle but it didn't go further than a little flirting and a weird one sided dislike that didn't go anywhere. The murder and mysteries took a back seat to the setting and atmosphere, which I didn't mind, but it did make the book feel like it was dragging a bit. At the end the mystery portion was a bit predictable, and it seemed like a lot of things were brought up but not explored further. I feel like the author is introducing characters in order to continue a series and not the story taking place in this book. Overall I still had a fun time reading (and listening to the audiobook - the narrator is great) and I would be interested in reading more by this author.

 

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and P.J Nelson for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review