I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Survivors become sleuths to find a missing member of their book club in new-age Sedona, New Mexico . . .
Two things got Rarity Jones through her breast cancer treatments: friends and books. Now cancer-free, Rarity is devoting her life to helping others find their way through the maze to healing. She’s opened a bookstore focusing on the power of healing—Eastern medicine, Western medicine, the healing power of food, the power of meditation, and the importance of developing a support community. To that end, she’s also started the Tuesday Night Survivors book club. With its openness to new-age communities, Sedona, Arizona, is the perfect fit for Rarity’s bookstore and the tightly knit group.
But their therapeutic unity is disrupted when one of their members suddenly goes missing. Martha has always kept to herself, never opening up much of her personal life to the group. Now she’s nowhere to be found. With her car abandoned on a trail and her dog left with a friend, Rarity is sure something terrible has happened—but will she be able to uncover Martha’s secrets before it’s too late? (Goodreads synopsis)
I have read novels by Lynn Cahoon before and feel that I am familiar with her style of writing. That said, I think this is another series that I will start to follow, as it hits quite close to home. My mother is a cancer survivor as well as an avid reader. She is who started my love for reading. Rarity, which is a cool name by the way, is exactly where I would hope my mother is emotionally speaking. At first I was worried because of how stringent the rules were that she was planning on imposing towards the book club. However, as the story progressed even she began to realize that it was counter-productive, if not a bit rude, to reject people outright. I enjoyed her character development. I am worried again though as a couple of sentences had me wondering if Rarity would try to revert back to these thoughts, or would continue to progress.
The best parts were her interactions with Sam. It is true that you learn who your friends, and family, are when crisis like this happens. I was glad to see that Rarity recognized those things in Sam. Sam didn’t try to push her thoughts on Rarity, but she also didn’t stop herself from saying them. Rarity picked up a stone and Sam told her to keep it as it clearly spoke to her. But there was no elaborate conversations, no “try this” or “try that”. They did activities together and spoke of their thoughts and feelings, and encouraged, supported, and healed one another.
Killer was an adorable addition. While there is romance, it doesn’t overwhelm the story. But the addition of Killer was perfect. I am a firm believer that a dog or a cat can assist the healing process. They don’t talk back to tell you their opinions, but they do provide a comfort that no human being can give.
Some cozy mysteries have a tendency to have the amateur hated by the professional. I do not see that happening in this case. Lynn Cahoon doesn’t seem to believe in this concept, and for that I am eternally grateful.
I dropped the rating down one because the ending seemed a little off. Without giving spoilers, it seemed like the killer knew what Rarity was doing without the reader seeing how she could have known. Unless a certain someone told them, in which case, maybe that should be mentioned. I’m not sure.
Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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