A Geek Girl's Guide to Arsenic

 

Geek Girl Mysteries, #2

 

Julie Anne Lindsey

 

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Carina Press
Date of Publication: March 7, 2016
Number of pages: 235
Word Count: 78,000

 

 

It's been three months since Jake Archer rolled into town, accused Mia Connors of murder and stole her heart. She hasn't heard from him since. So when a man collapses at the fall Renaissance Faire, she's surprised to see the US marshal arrive on scene. And shocked when he points the finger at her—again. Mia would sooner be able to resurrect the poor fellow than poison him.

Jake Archer's career has been rising fast, but it's about to come to a crashing halt. The Ren-Faire victim was in protective custody—Jake's custody—and they were painfully close to nabbing a major crime boss. If Jake doesn't solve the murder soon, he'll be fetching donuts instead of protecting his nation. A difficult enough task without the alluring Mia Connors in the way.

Working with Jake to catch the killer might push Mia into crazy-cat-lady territory. But with a murderer on the loose—and Mia's reputation on the line—they'll have to work fast to find the killer before the killer finds them.

Review: 
Cozy mysteries are one of my go to genres for a great read. In my favorites, typically the sleuth is a fiesty female, bound and determined to do things her own way, most usually accompanied by a quirky side kick (or two), and butting heads with the long arm of the law - in some form or fashion. The Geek Girl Mysteries hit all the right buttons, and then top them by focusing on Geek culture. What's a Geek Girl who loves Mysteries to do? Grab this series, that's what.

Several months have passed since the events at the end of book one. Mia has had some issues coping with the death of her best friend and co worker, and the attack that happened in her apartment. Plus she hasn't heard from Jake in all that time. So imagine her surprise when the Archer brothers show up after one of the Ren Faire folks dies from some kind of poisoning while talking to Mia at the Faire.

Mia's not just a possible suspect. The local news films a piece casting suspicion on Guinevere's Golden Beauty products for the death, just as the company is in talks to begin moving their products to actual brick and mortar store shelves. Mia has to find the real killer before Grandma's business is irrevocably destroyed by bad press.

The story was full of geek goodness from Cosplay to Furries and social media to gaming. Mia now lives and works in the Horseshoe Falls community, and we got to experience the joys of Pioneer days right along side her. The best part was learning more about Jake as he tried his best to keep up with Mia. My biggest complaint? The story went by too fast, and now I have to wait for the next book.  I had an absolutely lovely time with this story and gave it 5 geeked out stars.

Thanks to Great Escapes Tour, Netgalley and Carina Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Giveaway: 

Author Bio:

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and Sisters in Crime (SinC). She is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency.

Julie also writes as Julie Chase. Learn more about Julie Chase books here.

To connect with the author online:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads

http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2016/03/review-geek-girls-guide-to-arsenic-by.html

 

A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic is a story I wanted to like much more than I did. As a cozy mystery, it hits every single element, down to the (mostly) kooky cast of characters, led by the cosplay-loving, geeky heroine herself. Yet, for me, there was something missing. The characters all felt less developed in this second Geek Girls Mysteries outing, the mystery was not at all mysterious, and the first half of the book moved far too slowly.

IT manager and would-be sleuth Mia Connors is back in action mere months after the events of A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder, and to author Julie Anne Lindsey’s credit, the traumatic events that occurred in the first story have stayed with Mia. That doesn’t mean our inquisitive heroine will hesitate to jump right back into a murder mystery at the local Faire. Her eagerness to track down a killer overpowers her common sense, and I can’t blame either Jake or his homicide detective brother for being frustrated by Mia’s interfering with a murder investigation. Mia buzzes about like a bee, causing and getting into trouble in ways that are sometimes charming and sometimes strain credulity. Still, Mia’s got an upbeat nature, a strong personality, and realistic vulnerabilities that I found appealing. It’s those things that keep the story moving along when scenes threatened to drag.

Jake is one of the few bastions of calm in A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic, and as intrigued as I was by him in the first book, I was looking forward to diving into his character more. Sadly, we don’t get to learn very much more about Jake and what we do uncover is quickly glossed over. Mia’s family is far more present than Jake, yet for some reason they took a step back in this book, becoming less realized as characters. The Connors clan dropped into single-note caricatures, often for laughs, which was a bit of a disappointment since they were a strong presence in the story.

As for the murder mystery itself, A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic falls victim to the same problem A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder had: the bad guy is practically wearing flashing lights. I didn’t expect the mystery to be difficult to solve, but a bit of guesswork and more organic motivations for the villain would have been appreciated. As it stands, the mystery felt more like a device to get Mia from one location/quirky character to the next. This was a pity, because the story and the series as a whole truly have potential. All in all, A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic isn’t a bad read. It has funny moments, geeky pop culture references that are charming, and the leading characters are likeable and have the potential to be truly interesting.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Callie Ingram is a high school senior with a lot of choices before her. After recently dying and coming back as the rightful leader of the Vikings, she begins to question what her future holds. Just when things appear to be going smoothly, Zeus shows up to claim his favor and Callie is tasked with trying to stop an angry mob of frost giants. Will Callie be successful in her new role as leader or will the giants be too large to handle?

I was unaware when requesting this book from NetGalley that this was book two in a series. Thankfully it is written in a way where I didn't feel lost, though I am curious about a few minor details that I'm sure were introduced in book one. My main issue with this book is that while reading it I kept getting the feeling like I'd read it before, though this is the first time I've read a book by this author. I looked up book one and haven't read it either so I'm not sure why it is familiar. Perhaps I've read another book with a similar story line.

Though nothing in particular stood out to wow me, it was a pleasant read. I enjoyed the chemistry between Callie and Liam, though they both could be stubborn at times. The writing flowed nicely and the story set a great pace. I wish there had been a little more development in some areas, more details on secondary characters that would allow me to connect with them more, but all in all it was a nice read.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 

A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder

 

The Geek Girl Mysteries, #1

 

Julie Anne Lindsey

 

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Carina Press
Date of Publication: August 31st 2015
Number of pages: 248
Word Count: 82,750

 

 

IT manager Mia Connors is up to her tortoiseshell glasses in technical drama when a glitch in the Horseshoe Falls email system disrupts security and sends errant messages to residents of the gated community. The snafu's timing couldn't be worse—Renaissance Faire season is in full swing and Mia's family's business relies on her presence.

Mia doesn't have time to hunt down a computer hacker. Her best friend has disappeared, and she finds another of her friends murdered—in her office. When the hunky new head of Horseshoe Falls security identifies Mia as the prime suspect, her anxiety level registers on the Richter scale.

Eager to clear her name, Mia moves into action to locate her missing buddy and find out who killed their friend. But her quick tongue gets her into trouble with more than the new head of security. When Mia begins receiving threats, the killer makes it clear that he's closer than she'd ever imagined.

Mia's family is gathered at a local Ren Faire, including her twin sister Bree and Bree's husband Tom. Bree is dressed as a harlot and Tom as a pirate. The study Bree references is a grant that Bree and Tom are working on concerning human sexuality. I just loved the byplay between all the family members, especially the sisters.

2.5 stars.
This is not a contemporary romance.
Too wordy but with some funny dialogue, just not that engaging.

Mia Connors is responsible for the IT department at Horseshoe Falls, a gated community for families but mainly retirees. She is also the CIO of her own company, which she started while still in high school trying to get her grandmother get over the passing of her husband. Little did she know her website experiment would become a huge success and make her and her grandmother millionaires.

Still, Mia is down to earth and so she works. Everything is right with her life until the day she gets called to work at the crack of dawn for an urgent meeting, which then leads to the murder of one of her best friends, and she becomes a suspect or sort of.

Jake, the new head of security in the community, has it out for Mia and won’t leave her alone. He gets on Mia’s nerves at every turn, until he determines she isn’t a suspect, but rather she is in danger herself.

His brother, Dan, is in charge of the investigation and interviewing everyone they come across to get to the bottom of it and eventually find the killer.

Meanwhile, Nate, Mia’s other best friend goes missing. Everyone thinks he’s either dead or he’s the murderer. It turns out Nate is only on the run and following Dan, the cop, who’s trying to find him. Nate hopes to find the real killer this way. Soon he meets with Mia, Jake finds them out and instead of turning him over to his brother Dan, Jake decides to give Nate and Mia the benefit of the doubt. Mia’s car and apartment get vandalized, which only makes her more determined to find who’s behind the phishing emails that are going out to the community with fake coupons, and which may lead her to Baxter’s killer.

There’s some dry humor in this book, but not enough to make it entertaining in a way of a page turner. The story has a great start, it keeps you guessing who killed Baxter, but it soon becomes predictable and it’s not a shock when you finally find out who did. Also, what is up with authors inserting some kind of drug and rape scenes in books nowadays? There’s no rape in this book, only a scene where the killer makes his intentions clear. Still. There are other ways (besides rape) to build the suspense. The characters are likable at first, but soon become annoying and not people you can relate to. Last, if you’re looking for a romance this isn’t a book for you. This is not a contemporary romance. It has zero romance in it. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys wordy, dry-humored contemporary mysteries.