Mystery Fell Flat

I have read quite a few books by this author. She has put out quite a few series, and as I love cozy mysteries, I snap them up as soon as I see them at my favorite book review site. What I have found, unfortunately, is that Ms. Archer’s style is uneven. Some of her books, and some of her series, are spectacular. For instance, I love the series about hand lettering; if you haven’t read any of that series, you should check it out. However, this series isn’t quite doing it for me, and this particular installment of the series fell flat. I felt there was too much emphasis on the cozy and not enough on the mystery. That is definitely a problem with so many cozy mysteries. There does need to be a balance. The mystery in this one seemed underdeveloped and the resolution too obvious.

In general, I do like Ms. Archer’s books. I just don’t like this particular one. Obviously, I am not a reviewer who likes every book an author puts out just because I’ve liked a couple previously. Each book has to stand on its own merit. But I have enjoyed so many of this author’s books, that I am willing to give new ones a try.

Cozy Mystery Novella Delivers the Goods

This delivers a wonderful mystery even though it is so short. Often, mystery novellas lack the key elements that are needed for good cozy mystery, like red herrings, quirky characters, and plenty of possible suspects. This book delivers in so many ways. I love Hillary as the amateur sleuth in this series. She has such an empathetic way about her that she is able to elicit stories and even confessions from people. I love her interactions with her group of friends and her daughter. The group of friends provides excellent humor, and they seem to act like real groups of female friends do. Hillary’s relationship with her daughter isn’t always simple, again like real life. In this book, Hillary does not approve of Annabelle’s relationship with the first prime suspect for the murder in this book. He’s a womanizer who lacks a moral compass according to Hillary. But the mother of a grown woman can only say so much to her daughter in the area of romance. Speaking of romance, things are slowly heating up with Hillary and Preston, which is a delight to see as this has been a slow burn for them in the previous books of this series. A well-done, character-driven quick read.

Problem of First in Series Plagues Second

I have read books from several different series by this author, and I find myself somewhat amazed that I don’t have a single opinion about her as a writer. When I read a lot of books by one author, I tend to develop an impression that covers all the books I’ve read. With Ms. Archer, it changes for each series I read, it would seem. For instance, I absolutely adore the hand lettering series. This is now the second book I have read of this Coastal Playhouse series, and it isn’t sitting well with me. This book suffers from the same problem that the first one did. Namely, the book has far too many chunks of straight-out backstory about a variety of characters and circumstances littered throughout the first half of the book. I just do not like information dumps. With her skill, the author could definitely have spread this information around more evenly throughout and only when needed; I don’t think all the background itself was necessary. I do like the world she has created in this quirky little community. I like Tig (even if I still can’t stand her name) and her relationships with those around her, especially with her daughter and her former high school boyfriend (now local law enforcement). All in all, I would say that this series is not the author’s best work, but if you don’t mind data dumps, it is actually a very serviceable and enjoyable cozy mystery.