Reviewer's
Note:
Darla Pettistone, bookseller, property owner, and Texas-to-Brooklyn
transplant needs a part time worker for her store, Pettisone’s
Fine Books. Unfortunately, Hamlet, the black cat she inherited
with the bookstore, scares away nearly all of the applicants.
Finally however, Hamlet deems teen-angst boy Robert Gilmore
worthy, and immediately Robert proves himself a dedicated
worker to boot.
When an annoying customer, Curt Benedetto, is murdered at
the site of a house he and his partner, Barry Eisen, are restoring,
Darla is spooked. Hamlet has been sneaking out in the night
and Curt had mentioned that he had seen Hamlet near the renovated
house. Haunted by the idea that Hamlet may have tripped Curt
while he was walking down the basement stairs, Darla worries.
Yet Curt was hit on the head with a crowbar and that puts
Hamlet in the clear. Yet he could be a witness! Once again,
Darla realizes murder has come into her new life in Brooklyn,
and she determines that she will get to the truth and find
the killer—before it’s too late and someone else
dies.
I loved the first book in this series, “Double Booked
for Death,” and I love this one just as much. Brandon
writes in a natural yet snappy manner, with a moderate pace
in the action, yet every paragraph is important to the story.
There is excellent character development, believable plot
lines, and an intelligent female protagonist. Hamlet the cat
reminds me of my own two feline companions, and I like that
Brandon doesn’t skimp on sharing the cat’s cleverness.
Readers will find this mystery engaging and fun. If Pettisone’s
Fine Books were a real-life bookstore, I’d be a regular
customer for sure!
|
