Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.
But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.
I did not like Madeline! At all! Which, unfortunately, blinded the story for me. Honestly, the majority of the characters bothered me, with the exception of two, possibly three. First, Maddie is EXTREMELY whiny. Second, she cannot seem to make up her mind as to who she wants to accuse of murder. For example, when Madeline learns who torched the gazebo, yes, she is angry, but her first actions are to call the police officer and then the firefighter so she can rub it in their faces. If the author is intending to write a petty childish character, then she nailed it.
As for the mystery. I admit to being distracted by Madeline’s “woe is me” attitude and her constant accusations, that I actually lost sight of the situation. I didn’t see the murderer coming, and that felt like a win for the writing.
Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Comments
Post a Comment