Welcome! Wonton Terror by Vivien Chen releases on August 27 with Mulberry Mischief by Sharon Farrow. Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay along with An Amish Christmas Kitchen by Kate Lloyd, Jan Drexler and Leslie Gould comes out on September 3. The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking by Leigh Perry publishes on September 24. So many new books! Is there a new book you are looking forward to reading or adding to your TBR stack?
Clause & Effect by Kaitlyn Dunnett returns readers to Lenape Hollow, New York. Mikki Lincoln is a widow and retired English
teacher who returned to her hometown after the death of her husband. To pay for repairs on her home, she started The
Write Right Wright which is a proofreading and editing business. The village (not the town) of Lenape Hollow
will be celebrating the 225th anniversary (called quasquibicentennial)
of their founding. They have decided to resurrect
the pageant script from the bicentennial and Mikki is drafted to whip it into
shape. With the only copy of the play at
the historical society, Mikki sets up shop in the archive room to transcribe
it. She son hears a loud commotion where
remodeling work is being done in the building.
A wall covering the old fireplace has collapsed and a body wrapped in
plastic has tumbled out. Mikki is curious
as to the identity of the victim and begins to do a little digging. Work on the play is progressing, but the cold
case has stalled out. Then one of the
people on Mikki’s suspect list is killed and she wonders if the two cases are
linked. Mikki needs to be careful or she
could be history.
Clause & Effect is the second
installment in A Deadly Edits Mystery series.
It can be read as a standalone if you have not had time to read Crime& Punctuation. I like that Mikki
Lincoln is a mature main character (70 years old). She is a retired English teacher who now
lives in the home where she grew up with her cat, Calpurnia. I think the name of her proofreading and
editing business is clever (The Write Right Wright). We learn a little more about her friend,
Darlene Uberman and her frenemy, Ronnie North.
Personally, I could do without Ronnie. She is an abrasive character (the traditional
mean girl) who quickly got on my nerves.
The endless sniping reminded me of high school girls instead of mature
women. Mikki’s cousin, Luke shows up and
we learn more about Mikki’s family tree.
I enjoyed Mikki’s reminiscing about her childhood as it lets us get to
know Mikki better. The two mysteries
tied together nicely which provided multiple suspects and a red herring or two.
There are clues to help the reader identify the evil doer before Mikki. Mikki’s questioning technique leaves a lot to
be desired (blunt). She comes across as
a busybody instead of amateur sleuth.
Detective John Hazlett tells her multiple times to stop investigating,
but he does appreciate the intel Mikki shares with him. Readers also learn more about the village and
how it has changed over the last twenty-five years. I admit it is confusing that there is a town
and a village with the same name. I did
feel that the story lacked humor and the pacing was lethargic (action was
sorely needed). The literary and grammar
references that were sprinkled throughout Crime & Punctuation were missing
in Clause & Effect. There are some
language and grammar tips from Mikki at the end. Clause & Effect has a town celebration, two
dead bodies, a crumbled fireplace, feuding sisters, a cat named Calpurnia, and
one prying proofreader.
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| Lenape Hollow High School Mascot |
Clause & Effect is available through Amazon (as well as other retailers) as well as Crime & Punctuation (on Kindle Unlimited). Kaitlyn Dunnett also writes A Liss MacCrimmon Mystery series. The latest A View to a Kilt will be out on January 28 2020. Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow's selection is Knot on Her Life by Mary Marks. It is the seventh A Quilting Mystery. I hope you have a luminous day. Take care of yourself and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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