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bookwoman37's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is a cute fun cozy read. The book takes place at a haunted hotel outside New Orleans. Melanie is a tattoo artist at the hotel and when a guest is killed during a seance she sets out to investigate. I liked the New Orleans setting and the characters. The mystery was good with plenty of suspects. I was able to figure out the killer. It was a quick fun read. Enjoy
krisrid's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery!
I should probably start this review by noting that I am just a tad bit obsessed with New Orleans. I love everything about the city, and it doesn't take much to convince me to give a try to a book set there. So I was predisposed to like this. That said, this was a fast-paced, fun and well-written cozy murder mystery.
The flavour of New Orleans was well represented. From the turns of phrase locals would use, to mentions of the food, music and history that makes N'Awlins such a cool place, all of this was sprinkled throughout the story, and I enjoyed that.
I also liked the characters. Melanie particularly, as the main character, was smart and likable and determined to help her friends. She never did "too-stupid-to-live" stuff which earned her extra points and likability in my eyes.
The supporting character are also fun here. Most are Southern, which, again made me predisposed to like them, but all of them are given their own individual personalities and are presented as fully realized people who add various things to the story. It was fun getting to know them.
The murder itself was interesting and well-conceived, with plenty of clues for those who like to try to figure out who the murderer is and why.
This was just a nice, enjoyable cozy and I would absolutely read future stories in this series.
I should probably start this review by noting that I am just a tad bit obsessed with New Orleans. I love everything about the city, and it doesn't take much to convince me to give a try to a book set there. So I was predisposed to like this. That said, this was a fast-paced, fun and well-written cozy murder mystery.
The flavour of New Orleans was well represented. From the turns of phrase locals would use, to mentions of the food, music and history that makes N'Awlins such a cool place, all of this was sprinkled throughout the story, and I enjoyed that.
I also liked the characters. Melanie particularly, as the main character, was smart and likable and determined to help her friends. She never did "too-stupid-to-live" stuff which earned her extra points and likability in my eyes.
The supporting character are also fun here. Most are Southern, which, again made me predisposed to like them, but all of them are given their own individual personalities and are presented as fully realized people who add various things to the story. It was fun getting to know them.
The murder itself was interesting and well-conceived, with plenty of clues for those who like to try to figure out who the murderer is and why.
This was just a nice, enjoyable cozy and I would absolutely read future stories in this series.
singerofstories's review against another edition
4.0
I'll be generous and go up to 4 stars on this one. Some nice things and some meh things. I like some good southern charm and sweet characters, but there are a few....ehhhh, doubtful things as well. I'm not big on dead grandfathers rescuing MC's from life-and-death situations. I do, however, have major appreciations for MC's who aren't TOO super-sleuthy. Mel had just the right amount of do-good in her to be a good cozy mystery sleuth for me. And her romance with Cap'n Jack was sweet. She does an awful lot of speculating how beautiful everyone else is and how she herself is just "frumpy" but yet the superfine Jack is head over heels for her. Meh, I'm not big on that. Oh well. It was a good read!
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