A choice of my RL book club which I'll be discussing with them next week. Actually I'll try to keep my big mouth shut, since it isn't the best nor the worst cozy mystery that I've read, but it did have some of what I consider to be some of the more objectionable tropes of this sub-genre.
If I was judging by cozies, I'd believe that law enforcement is either corrupt or inept in the majority of small communities. Perhaps I'm deluded, but I think most law enforcement officers are good people doing the best job they can.
I also roll my eyes when the women (they are almost always women) do silly things like breaking and entering or elaborate spying. This group of amateur investigators does both of these things. I don't find this realistic which drives me nuts. I’ll only grant an exception to comic cozies like the Miss Fortune series by Jana Deleon, where she writes it as slapstick.
Finally, I found the ending OTT melodramatic. I don't want to spoil things and I can see where it probably seemed like a neat way to wrap things up. Not to say that I don't think that crime happens in small towns because I know it does. However the situation in this novel seemed over elaborate to me.
There were good things I liked about this book too. I appreciated that four friends who banded together. I liked their assortment of talents and careers. I loved Nora's bookstore and her bibliotherapy for her customers. It meshed nicely with Hester's comfort scones produced in her bakery. We gradually learn that all of the women have big secrets and they have kept others at arm's length for a long time. All the elements of the title explained. (I may as well confess that the title made me itchy until I figured out the comma placement was accurate.)
So not the best, not the worst. Although the final pages set up the next book handily (and 2 of the 4 women haven't been matched up with a romantic interest yet) I rather doubt that I'll continue on. But at least I'll know what everyone at book club is talking about while I struggle to keep my opinions to myself.
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