Published: November 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1101986837
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Format: Print
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address: Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com
FOUR HEARTS
Briar Creek librarian Lindsey Norris believes everyone should
have access to their favorite reads, even reclusive shut ins like the elderly
Rosen brothers. Or, perhaps even more so because the brothers live on one of
the Thumb Islands. Of course the only
way to get there is via water taxi and who better to take her than her
ex-boyfriend, who hopes to once again be the man in her life, Sully. When they arrive, however, it doesn’t take
long for them to realize something is wrong, very wrong.
Normally Stewart Rosen will meet them at the dock. It’s not a matter of courtesy—it’s because
the brothers have a reputation as hoarders and just do not want anyone in their
house. After waiting a few minutes they
head to the house, keeping a watchful eye out because it’s fairly well-know the
brothers have booby-trapped the house to preserve their privacy. What they find
once inside is extremely disturbing—Peter, who uses a wheelchair, has been shot
and killed and Stewart is nowhere to be found. Despite the evidence pointing to
it, Lindsey and Sully cannot believe Stewart killed his brother. And, if it
wasn’t Stewart, what are the chances the killer will come next for him? Can Lindsey and Sully find the killer before
he strikes again?
I was delighted to see Jenn McKinlay’s Library Lovers series get
back on track with the addition of A LIKELY STORY. Book 4, READ IT AN WEEP, introduced the
formulaic “love triangle”. Book 5, ON
BORROWED TIME, was more of a romance than a mystery—the mystery came across as
more of an afterthought and it was almost enough for me to give up on the
series. If I want to read a romance, I’ll
pick one up. Unfortunately all of McKinlay’s series have added this annoying
element and hopefully those that continue will focus more on detecting and less
on romance. That said, she does have a romance series beginning and I am
anxious to see what she does with it. When
I pick up a cozy, I want a female detective solving a murder with her smarts,
cunning and wits. Lindsey started out
that way but then the detour into that love triangle made her a less appealing
character. With A LIKELY STORY, the third party to the triangle is there
briefly but finally leaves town…at least or awhile. The story is shorter than usual so it seemed
like the few scenes where he appeared were more to raise the word count than to
add to the story.
That said, I do applaud McKinlay on raising the issue of
hoarding and how hoarders, and in particular elderly ones, can struggle with
the disorder. One of my dearest friends was a self-described hoarder and during
a heart-to-heart conversation one day she admitted that part of the reason she
lived not all that different from the Rosen brothers, was it helped her to feel
safe—that anyone breaking into her house would either alert her to their
presence by falling over things or get hurt themselves buying her time to call
for help. Lindsey’s compassion and by extension McKinlay’s came through in a wonderful
manner through Stewart’s story.
McKinlay gives readers just the right amount of clues as to who
the killer is along with a nicely done twist in how the murder happened.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of
this book.
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