The Book Club Murders

Welcome!  I hope everyone has had a good Thursday.  As many of you know I enjoy mysteries, and I was happy to hear that Kate Carlisle's Fixer Upper Mystery series is coming to Hallmark Movie and Mysteries Channel!  Colin Ferguson (from Eureka and Haven) will be the love interest.  Jewel (I have no clue who this is) will star as Shannon Hammer. I look forward to watching it in 2017!

The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel is the debut novel in The Oakwood Mystery series.  Charlotte “Charley” Carpenter owns Old Hat Vintage Fashions in Oakwood, Ohio (wonderful state).  Charley is joining the Agathas Book Club to garner more customers (a higher end clientele) for her shop.  But Charley does not enjoy the ladies in the group or their endless gossip.  It seems someone else shares Charley’s opinion.  Serena Wyndham is found on a mattress under a bridge.  The killer staged the scene, but why? Charley is curious about the murder and does some snooping around.  Then a second victim, Lisa Summerfield is found.  She is also from the Agathas and her murder is reminiscent of a book the club read recently.  Whoever is murdering these women knows the Agathas Book Club members and the books on their reading list.  What does the killer have against the Agathas?  Charley is determined to get answers and make sure the culprit pays for his crimes.

The Book Club Murders is easy to read and has a nice small town setting.  I had high hopes for this book (a mystery about mysteries), but I was not entertained.   The Book Club Murders, unlike regular cozy mysteries, contains foul language and sex (neither of which are needed).  Ms. Nagel overplayed the sexual attraction between Detective Marcus Trenault and Charley (steamy, sizzling).  It was over-the-top and annoying.  I wrote down “We get it.  She dislikes Marc but is attracted to him.”  This book was turning into a “bodice ripper”.  An example is “attraction burned as bright as ever” (cliché and not the only one in book).  The first murder occurs in chapter one which makes for a long book.  I wish authors would lead into the murder.  If it happens too early in the book, the readers quickly loses interest (and skips to the end to see if they correctly identified the killer).  The author is a descriptive writer and provides minute detail on what seems like every little thing.  Charley was not a likeable character.  She is extremely nosy, determined, and has attitude issues.  It is Charley’s way and get out of the way if you do not approve.  I give The Book Club Murders 2.5 out of 5 stars (I did not like it).  The mystery may seem complicated, but it can easily be solved.  There is a good twist, but, if you are a regular mystery reader, you will see it forthcoming.  The idea was good, but I was not partial to the finished product.  There is an excerpt for The Antique House Murders at the end of the book.  I will not be continuing with this series (it is just not for me).

Thank you for visiting.  I am currently reading Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd (just now working it into my reading schedule).  I am off to do some more Christmas decorating.   May all of you have a lovely, relaxing night.  I will see you tomorrow when I review another novel. Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader