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The Ashton
Corners Mystery Reader's and Cheese Straws Society have something
new on their agenda. Teensy (who is not teensy at all, but
rather larger than life,) has recently moved back to town
and asked them to help her launch her new book. The women
are excited about helping Teensy- especially Molly Matthews,
as she and Teensy were close friends growing up.
Yet two
murders get in the way, and protagonist Lizzie Turner once
again sets out to solve the crimes, despite the admonitions
of her police officer boyfriend, Mark, and the displeasure
of the two FBI agents who are in town as well. The murders
appear to be the direct result of a counterfeiting operation
gone awry. Bundles of fake cash are discovered in boxes of
Teensy's book, and the printer, local man Owen Rivers, is
one of the murdered men. The other victim is a small time
criminal, found dead on the property of former police chief,
Bob Miller. There is counterfeit cash on the man's body and
more is found in Bob's house. Is it a set up or is Miller
really involved with the counterfeit ring?
I enjoyed
this book, but not as much as the first two in the series.
I'm afraid Lizzie is coming down with the TSTL syndrome. That
stands for Too Stupid to Live, and is one of my pet peeves
with mystery novels. In a scary movie, the heroine who has
TSTL will go blindly into a dark basement where she knows
she should not go because the killer could be down there.
In a mystery book, the most common situation is the heroine
who ignores not only police orders, but her own inner voice.
I hope author Erika Chase will set Lizzie on a smarter path
in the next book, Book Fair and Foul.
That
said, I did like the book and was surprised at the outcome.
The killer was not on my radar until the end. I liked the
quotes from other current mystery novels that open each chapter.
The characters are likeable and familiar, and relationships
continue to grow. If you are in a book club, this would be
an appropriate book to read and discuss, and perhaps make
a game out of guessing who the killer is before your group
finishes the book.
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