3 Stars
Excellent narration
This was a good murder mystery profiler story better than most with a creative back story. I had planned on continuing the series till the last 1/4. All the characters seems to fit well in their rolls and I was not sure who did it till near the end. What threw this down was the "I'm a Christian" "I trust God" "I made an educated choice and believed in God"... There was so much of this all the sudden. Okay I was good with her being a Christian, a few sentences would have been fine. But I felt it turned into an evangelistic read at the end. There was a speech on her why's and how it was truth. The MC had several characters questioning their beliefs. Why ? This didn't fit in with the story, this wasn't a Christian book and it was directed out from the character. I'm not a Christian, but I will read Christian writings and have enjoyed them. I do not like feeling like I was snuck attacked by a hidden Christian read that wasn't marked as one.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

A quick trip to Winter Break turns out to be more complicated than Samantha “Ivy” Towers ever imagined. With her parents overseas she is responsible for planning her Aunt Bitty’s funeral and tying up her legal affairs that may include selling her bookstore. Soon after she arrives she finds out that her aunt left everything to her with the exception of a few special gifts. But Aunt Bitty’s death is troubling and not just for Ivy. The investigation was quickly wrapped up and the body cremated a little too fast. She even finds an unsigned note that tells her it was not an accident. She knows most of the residents of Winter Break but someone is lying. She only has a few weeks off from college but she is not leaving until she finds out what really happened to her Aunt Bitty.

Winter in Winter Break sounds similar to winter in Wisconsin so I felt right at home. Like most small towns it is full of its share of quirky residents, but one thing is for sure everyone loved Aunt Bitty. She was a special lady and she will be missed. The author has created such wonderful characters. Hearing the people talk about Aunt Biddy made me really sad she was the victim of the horrible murder. Ivy though has a lot of the same qualities as her aunt, she just doesn’t realize it yet. Her upbringing was a bit unusual so there is a sense of insecurity. She evolved in this story but the author has left her plenty of room to grow.

We meet several of Winter Break’s finest including Amos, a deputy sheriff and old friend of Ivy’s and Ruby that owns the local diner with her signature burgers. A visitor in town lands squarely on Ivy’s suspect list, his arrival is just too suspicious and he is clearly hiding something.

The story had a couple of hitches for me, medical things mostly, but the mystery was well-plotted. It had plenty of twists but I picked out the murderer early on. It was interesting to read to the end to be sure I was right and the true motive for the crime.

The story does have a Christian theme and a clear message that blends with the mystery very nicely and does overpower it.

I found this to be a fine start for this series and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Bye, Bye, Bertie.

Right after Halloween, it is election time.  How we start with the local races? 

 

Mayors are very popular as Romance Heroes and Heroines. Here are some great ones!

 

My list are never in any particular order. 

 

1. Wild Child: A Novel by Molly O'Keefe

2. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

3. The Neon Court  by Kate Griffin

4. The Emperor's New Clothes by Victoria Alexander

5. A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher

6. Falling for Gracie by Susan Mallery 

7. Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis 

8. Gathering Shadows (by Nancy Mehl

9. Mr. Unforgettable  by Karina Bliss

10. A Different Light by Mariah Stewart 

 

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

 

To vote for the best Mayor in Romanceland go to my Goodreads list: City Hall: Mayor Heroes and Heroines in Romance Novels

I did enjoy this book. It was entertaining, with a good message, and suspenseful. Although I was pretty sure which way it would go, I wasn't 100% sure.
I do think that the final conversation in the book, though, was a bit laid back considering all that had happened. Certainly, when discussing those events, a bit of horror at what might have been would have seemed more realistic. Also, this was another book that seemed to skip over the resolution of the climax too quickly. Of course, being written in first person can create difficulties in those situations, but I felt restarting the story a bit sooner after the events would have been better, and perhaps not so much telling and more showing at that point.

didn't draw me in like the first book. Need to try again sometime