Now that Malice Domestic is over, I can review the books from the panel I moderated: the importance of setting.
Heather Weidner almost needs no introduction. The author of several series, Twinkle, Twinkle au Revoir is the latest in her Mermaid Bay series. And a funny book it is too. The Love channel (a thinly disguised Hallmark Channel) comes to town to film a new movie. Ruby, the owner of the B&B, is being driven crazy by all the quirks of the actors. But business is booming is the Christmas Shop run by Jade Hicks.
Then the body of an annoying reporter is found and someone tries to murder the male star, Raphael Allard. Laugh out loud funny.
Peril at the Pool House is also written against the setting of a beach community. Helen Morrisey, a realtor/detective, has sold a Victorian beauty to Elliot Davies and wife Allison. Elliot is running for office and holds his kick-off in the house.
But rumors that the house is haunted appear true when strange events begin happening at the house. Then the body of his assistant is discovered in the pool house, bludgeoned to death.
The case takes a turn when Helen discovers a connection to a cold case.
A twisty mystery and good characters make this one shine.
Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles takes place in a hardware store – a pretty unusual setting. Dawna is struggling to keep her hardware store going after the death of her husband. The job gets much harder when she discovers the body of a murdered man in the store bathroom. Warren Hardcastle was not popular in town but now Dawna is one of the suspects. Dawna and her daughter April jump on the case.
A touch of the supernatural makes this one a little different. Funny and fun.
Finally, Cathi Stoler’s book is a little different. She wanted to become a spy as a child and that shows. Nick Donahue’s significant other Marina are drawn into a complicated mystery that starts out simply enough with the death of a horse. The location moves from New York City to Dubai to Kentucky as Marina and Nick, a professional gambler – now there is a profession you don’t see very often – investigate.
This series has a real Robert Ludlum – Bourne vibe. Enjoyable.