A review by dollycas
Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz

5.0

Dollycas’s Thoughts

I absolutely loved everything about this book!

Tess Tremaine is starting over after a terrible marriage. Her son has his life in Birmingham and she is settling in to her new home in Goose Pimple Junction. With a children’s book already published she decides to try her hand at a romance novel. To fill her time she lands a part-time job at A Blue Million Books and she is also refreshing the home she has purchased. It just so happens that her new home was the bookstore owner’s family home. The mystery begins when she discovers something interesting in a floor register.

They story goes back and forth from 1932 when a bank was robbed to present day. Tess’ arrival in Goose Pimple has spurred a bunch of things in motion. The author does the changing points of view wonderfully.

Metz has filled her story with sweet tea, southern charm and the language that Tess finds trouble grasping at first but she catches on PDQ.

The residents of Goose Pimple Junction are what we cozy readers call “quirky” and most have hearts as big as all outdoors. Bookstore owner Lou is a true gem and she loves people. She has her opinions which she is not afraid to share and sometimes she shares them loudly and at other times under her breathe so just the folks nearby can hear. Jack is a mystery author and he seems to click with Tess from their first “Howdy”, but Tess was just not ready to have another “cheatin’ man” in her life and in her frame of mind most men are cheaters. But she does start to warm up to him after a while.

The story is also full of humor and well known and not so well known Southern sayings – Goosepimpleisms. The dialogue continued to crack me up time and time again. For example: Tess and Jack are at dinner when another man walks in and they both notice his attire. Jack shook his head. “I ‘m surprised he can sit. His pants are so tight, if he farted, he’d blow his boots off.”

The mystery was well researched and well plotted. I was surprised to learn it is based on an a real unsolved mystery the author had grown up hearing about. There were plenty of suspects rolling around in my mind. Heck I even suspected Jack!

This story was a pure joy to read. I was sorry to see it end. The author gives us a small helping of the next book in the series, Heroes & Hooligans in Goose Pimple Junction. I went right to Amazon to try to purchased it. It is not out yet but the author says it will be soon. I can’t wait!