January Thaw / Jess Lourey

 

January Thaw by Jess Lourey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun, fast mystery for my first book of 2021. I have become quite fond of this series and I really enjoy the comedy team of Mira James and Mrs. Berns. This is humour that I can appreciate, something I comprehend. How can I resist Mrs. Berns, who asks questions like “Are you writing a book in your head or are you holding in a fart?” What can I say, I enjoy very simple jests.

It helps that Lourey can plot a pretty good mystery, plus she provides a continuing plot about Mira's love life, her professional development, her friends and neighbours. As much as I love the mystery genre, I really love the soap opera like details of this ongoing story line. I like getting to know characters over the course of several books, giving me a chance to become fond of them. It helps that Lourey doesn't write Mira (or Mrs. Berns) as unintelligent. Both women can add up details to get to results quickly, even if Mira has problems with relationships. At least she seems to be working through her issues, not repeating them ad nauseum (Kay Scarpetta, I'm looking at you!)

I also appreciate the kindness of these main characters, who seem to be acquiring quite a circle of friends and pleasing acquaintances. There's quite enough negativity in the world right now and I find that this depiction of caring people makes me feel better about life, not worse.

I've been plotting my reading life for the New Year and I think I will likely weed out some lesser mystery series to make room for more Mira in my life.


View all my reviews