Thursday, 3 March 2016

Going Coastal by Jane DiLucchio (Cozy mystery, Contemporary fiction, 10/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 January 2016, Quest Books, 208 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Content: clean romance, lots of humour, murder 

Summary from Regal Quest Books
A client dying on her massage table is traumatic enough for Kate Matthews, but when the police declare that death a murder, life becomes more painful for her as she is cast as the major suspect.

None of this is what Kate expected from her move to the peaceful town of Santa Barbara. After a near-fatal heart attack, an early retirement from her Los Angeles law firm, and a change in careers, Kate envisioned a quiet life with her wife, Alicia, and their grown children.

Since the client held a position on the California Coastal Commission, her death becomes a media event. Kate finds herself and her family sucked into the maelstrom. The former lawyer has all she can do to find the truth behind Celia's death without adding her own name to the body count.
 
Nayu's thoughts
This was an unexpected gem of a cozy mystery which was more awesome than I expected.While I'm used to the main protagonist being 20-30 something years old, Kate is at a different stage in life. This didn't make it hard to relate to her. Her open minded views on life are fun to read, she has a great sense of humour and has a 'can do' attitude. She also has a 'let's run into danger because it vaguely will hurt my loved ones' attitude which is admirable, and the central focus of the novel.

I could scarcely imagine what it must be like to be thought of as a murder suspect. She does all the right things (almost all), thanks to her various life experiences she has contacts who can help her when she gets into tricky situations, of which there are many. 

I loved how the layers of the plot were slowly revealed, especially connections her own lovable (bar her ex husband) family, be they blood related or not. I had no clue who the murderer was, and when the reveal came I was surprised but it all made sense, and I'm looking forward to rereading it with that knowledge in mind. I loved how Kate's pet plays a role in the story, and also her family life which is tied in heavily with the murder, but not in the way you'd expect. The relationship Kate has with her son and daughter made me smile and sigh. It will be fun seeing more of her and her close family in other stories.

Find out more on Jane's website.

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