Want to Cozy Up With a Mystery This February?

 

Image Copied From NetGalley

As promised, this month's theme in terms of book reviews will be mystery and romance. For my first pick, I've chosen this cute cozy mystery by Sarah Fox. Murder Most Owl is the first in a new series set in the fictitious town of Twilight Cove, Oregon. Georgie Johansen is a successful screenwriter for TV who lives in Los Angeles. Her expertise is in writing thrillers and mysteries. When she returns to Twilight Cove to help her aunt at her animal sanctuary after she’s broken her ankle, Georgie finds herself embroiled in a real-life murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. Olivia is a very likable and believable character. She is someone who suffered loss at a young age with the death of her mother. Afterwards, Georgie and her dad never really have a home base as her father moves them around a lot throughout much of her childhood. Her happiest memories growing up were the few years she spent in Twilight Cove living with her aunt as a teen. But Georgie hasn’t been back since her dad moved her away. It was too hard to leave the first time around. Once back, however, she falls in love with the animals at the sanctuary and is intrigued by her aunt’s new farm manager, Callum, who seems to have some secrets of his own. When Aunt Olivia’s reclusive neighbor Dorothy is killed, Georgie volunteers to take in Dorothy’s two dogs Flossy and Fancy. Though Georgie learns from a town gossip that Dorothy was a witch, it’s her two dogs who actually have special talents.

One thing to note about this novel, if you are expecting heavy fantasy elements with purported witch Dorothy in the vane of a Madelyn Alt or a Shea MacLeod cozy mystery, this is not that type of book. Likewise, if you are expecting the animal characters to have conversations about their human counterparts as they might in a Rita Mae Brown novel, you will not find that here, either. That being said, I really appreciated the clever way this author handled the light fantasy elements that are present in the story. Fox doesn’t have Fancy or Flossy act outside the realm of a normal intelligent dog, and manages to incorporate their abilities into their characters in a way that compliments their normal behavior. Their special qualities aren’t revealed right away either, which adds another element of intrigue to figure out as the story unfolds. I also enjoyed the owl Euclid, who was Dorothy’s friend, and who soon becomes Georgie’s friend and protector. Though for a nocturnal animal, he does seem to be awake in the daytime an awful lot, something even Georgie comments on. Still, it doesn’t stretch the suspension of disbelief too far.

In terms of Georgie as amateur sleuth, I appreciated the way Fox handles how Georgie becomes caught up in solving Dorothy’s murder. At first, it is her normal curiosity that causes her to become unwittingly involved. Unlike other stories, she doesn’t automatically assume she is more qualified to solve the case than the police. But as clues and even deaths begin to mount up, she can’t let the puzzle go and becomes more invested. She even motivates others like her aunt and her old high school friend, Tessa, to help. The clues add a fun element to the puzzle as I could tell when some were important to the plot, and had a suspicion of who the murderer might be. But I couldn’t figure out the connections for all of the pieces provided until near the very end. Another thing I liked about the story was the building attraction between Georgie and Callum. It added a fun touch of romance to the novel, even though, like Georgie, you aren’t sure he’s trustworthy. It is however, a slow burn romance. So, if you like steamier romantic elements in your mysteries, again that is not this type of novel. Other secondary characters like Tessa, Aunt Olivia and her knitting circle, and other less likeable ones such as local journalist Byron Szabo and Shanifa and Mo, local food truck owners, fill out this cast and make Twilight Cove feel like a real place full of real, if sometimes offbeat, people. Something that I can relate to living in a small close-knit community myself. All in all, the only detractor I had for the story was the obvious antagonist at the beginning, the developer Ed Grimshaw. Fox made him a bit too bombastic and two-dimensional for me as a character. Also, the pacing of the story is slower than what you might expect. But this is the first in a series, so the worldbuilding and development of the cast of characters does take as much precedence in this book as the mystery itself.

However, if you like cozy mysteries with a dash of fantasy and a touch of romance mixed in, then I highly recommend you check out Murder Most Owl. It is a fun and easy read and I look forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Severn House for providing me with this ebook ARC to read in exchange for this honest review.

Image copied from Amazon

Check back in the next couple of weeks for my next review, which will be of this young adult romance by Ali Hazelwood. Here is a blurb, courtesy of Amazon, to help wet your appetite.

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)