3 Hoots

A castle, a bookstore, and a murder…what more can you ask for?

I was really hoping to love this book but it really was middle of the row for me. The main character was interesting but I had a little trouble connecting with her. I know that with cozy mysteries the lead solving the crime/murder is normally the average joe but this was really a stretch for me. On another note there was a castle and hidden passages so that was fun.

One of the things that I had trouble with through out this book is why Shelby was inserting herself in the situation. She did meet the victim, but only for a few hours and then suddenly she just HAD to figure out who committed the murder. Seriously, that was their only connection. In fact there were a few times where she was asked why she was trying to solve this murder and her response was “I didn’t really know her but”…that really was my question as well through out the book.

The other issue was the pacing of the book. The first half seemed to drag on a bit but the second half did pick up. It kind of seemed like the author finally found herself midway and tried to tie the story together better. There were a few red herrings in the book but the spontaneous confession from the killer was a bit odd. I could see how it was set up, but it kind of felt shoehorned in. Overall the book was interesting at various parts but it just didn’t knock it out of the park for me. Will I try another book by this author? Sure, but I would most likely not continue with this series.