Review – Secret of a Painted Lady by Elizabeth Ashby & Christina A. Burke #cozy @christinaaburke
Synopsis
If these walls could talk…they’d scream murder.
Alex Jordan, owner of Finials and Facades Renovation and Restoration Services, has been living her dream of restoring Victorian-style homes in the town of Danger Cove. But her recent acquisition of the stately Marlton House has led to a showdown with the town real estate mogul, and now she needs to restore the old house and flip it before time runs out. But Alex gets more than she bargained for when a Hawaiian shirt-clad tourist with a bullet in his head turns up in the home’s bathtub. Pairing up with unlikely partner and town florist, George Fontaine, Alex vows to solve the murder before her flip becomes a flop.
As Alex worries over deadlines, she stumbles across another body on the cliffs of Danger Cove. However, this “body” is a super-sexy man with amnesia…or so he says. Throw in a stash of stolen diamonds, a matchmaking grandmother, a foulmouthed parrot, and a mysterious killer with Alex in his sights, and Alex is in a race against the clock to salvage the job, solve the murder, and save her own life.
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Review
This cozy moves along pretty quickly…from finding the dead body, to the mystery at hand to solving the crime. There is a motley group of characters and some I liked and some I didn’t like…but that is what the authors set out out to do. After all you can’t like everyone!
I’m not sure how I feel about George’s character. He is holding a lot back, but perhaps he will loosen up. I’m not sure how I feel about the relationship between him and Alex, it seemed to move rather quickly because they have known each other for awhile (Alex picks up flowers for her grandmother each week from George) it seemed to move rather quickly.
There is a funny section involving bats!
I had no clue who the killer was going to be…it was definitely NOT someone on my radar.
We give it 5 paws up
The Danger Cove books
Secret of the Painted Lady (a Danger Cove Renovation Mystery)
Murder and Mai Tais (a Danger Cove Cocktail Mystery)
Death by Scones (a Danger Cove Bakery Mystery)
Four-Patch of Trouble (a Danger Cove Quilting Mystery)
Deadly Dye and a Soy Chai (a Danger Cove Hair Salon Mystery)
Killer Closet Case (a Danger Cove B&B Mystery)
About Danger Cove
Danger Cove is a sleepy little town in the Pacific Northwest and home to renowned mystery novelist, Elizabeth Ashby. While Elizabeth swears the stories she writes are fiction, you can find the inspiration for her murderous tales all over Danger Cove…from the intriguing cast of local characters to the places to eat, play, and explore in Danger Cove. Don’t let our name fool you—we’re the friendliest (even if deadliest) town in the Pacific Northwest!
Visit us at dangercovemysteries.com