Killer Party Series: Tourist Trap Mysteries #9 on July 18, 2017
Purchase: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Also in this series: Guidebook to Murder, Mission to Murder, If the Shoe Kills, Dressed To Kill, Killer Run, Murder on Wheels, Tea Cups and Carnage, Hospitality and Homicide, Rockets' Dead Glare, Santa Puppy, Memories and Murder
For a gang of old college buddies, the quaint resort town of South Cove, California, is the perfect spot for a no-holds-barred bachelor party. But for Jill Gardner—owner of Coffee, Books and More—this stag party is going to be murder . . .
After a few months of living with her boyfriend Greg, Jill is still getting used to sharing such close quarters, but she’s got no hesitation about joining him for a weekend at South Cove’s most luxurious resort. While Greg and his college pals celebrate their buddy’s upcoming wedding, Jill intends to pamper herself in style. But when the groom is found floating facedown in the pool, Jill must find the killer fast, or she might not have a boyfriend to come home to any more . . .
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Review
Murder strikes closer to home in Killer Party, as one of Greg’s high-school friends is murdered during a buddies reunion at The Castle, the historic mansion in South Cove. Since wives and significant others were included in the weekend, Jill and Greg are both on-site when the body is discovered. Given Greg’s connection to the victim, the mayor calls in nearby Bakerstown police to investigate. Jill, of course, is unable to keep from asking questions, and for once, she has Greg’s blessing and help—until she suspects he’s hiding something from her, and she starts delving into the victim’s high-school years.
The glimpses into Greg’s backstory help round him out as a character, and the fact that he and Jill are now living together means we see more of them together. I like the direction this relationship is going, and appreciate that Ms. Cahoon is letting it develop rather than throwing obstacles in their way or introducing unneeded tensions. One of my pet peeves is when series authors try to string romantic tension out too long (will they, won’t they.) Real-life relationships either go somewhere or end; they don’t hang about in limbo. I’m glad this one is going somewhere. Jill deserves to be happy, and so does Greg.
In terms of character and relationship development, I really enjoyed this book. As for the mystery, there are quite a number of red herrings, but few solid clues, which did make me feel I didn’t have a fair chance of solving the case on my own—something that’s rare in Cahoon’s mysteries, since she’s usually pretty good at providing all the clues and combining them with a healthy dose of misdirection. This time, I was left just a trifle disappointed: not by the actual identity of the murderer, but because I’d missed out on some of the fun of figuring it out.
But never mind, I’m always up for a visit to South Cove! I enjoy the recurring secondary characters and the way that Ms. Cahoon has built a townful of people I recognize and (mostly) like—including a few new residents introduced in this book. It’s small-town life not unlike where I live, with relationships made and broken, friendships and rivalries and a community of generally nice, normal people (and the occasional eccentric.) I sometimes wish there were a bit more diversity in South Cove, but I truly appreciate the town and the people, and look forward to my next trip there. Besides, it’s always entertaining to see what Jill gets up to—or into!
Giveaway
Enter to win a copy of Killer Party in the tour-wide giveaway!
Killer Party Tour Schedule
- July 17 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW
- July 17 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT
- July 18 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
- July 18 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT
- July 19 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW
- July 19 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
- July 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
- July 20 – Cozy Up With Kathy – SPOTLIGHT
- July 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
- July 22 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – REVIEW
- July 22 – Brooke Blogs SPOTLIGHT
- July 23 – deal sharing aunt – SPOTLIGHT
- July 24 – Varietats – REVIEW
- July 24 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
- July 25 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW
- July 25 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
- July 26 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
- July 27 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW
- July 27 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
- July 28 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
- July 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
About Lynn Cahoon
Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series, won the Reader’s Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She’s also the author of the Cat Latimer series; the first book, A Story to Kill, was released in mass market paperback in September 2016. Lynn lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com
Dianne Casey
I really enjoyed the description of the book. Sounds like an amazing read.
Lark_Bookwyrm
It was fun—I hope you get a chance to read it!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! I just read it and really liked it though now that you mention it I definitely agree on the lack of solid clues. I was really enjoying being back in South Cove and didn’t even notice!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Howards End is on the Landing – Bookish Nonfiction Review
Lark_Bookwyrm
I really think I read these as much or more for the characters as for the mysteries. 🙂