Smart, Fast-Paced Cozy Mystery

 

image copied from Bookshop.org

Murder at the Agency was a great cozy mystery to read leading into the end of summer to help get me ready for fall. It features a smart, relatable main character, a clever plot, and small town setting off the coast of Lake Michigan. All things to love in a cozy whodunnit. 

The story opens with Cassidy at her lowest point. She's lost her job after finally standing up for herself, her boyfriend has dumped her, and the building where her apartment is has been sold, meaning she's going to have to move. Fortunately, a kind stranger who overhears some of her woes offers her a chance at an interview for her dream job at a well-respected marketing agency. Things begin to look up once she lands the job. Cassidy even manages to make a new friend in need of a roommate. But then things quickly unravel when her boss is killed and she finds the body. 

As a main character, I found Cassidy someone I could easily root for to solve the mystery and win the day! She is resilient and smart as well as being very good at wheedling information out of people without them even realizing it. This makes her a natural as an amateur sleuth. 

The setting of the small mid-western town and the fast-paced marketing agency where Cassidy works made the world easy for me to imagine and get lost in. I especially liked the way that Forsythe described Cassidy's job and the marketing ideas she comes up with for the variety of companies seeking assistance with promoting their product. I began to suspect near the end of the book who the key players might be in the murder and why, but I was surprised by the twist at the end when the killer is revealed. 

Murder at the Agency by Kylie Forsythe was a smart, quick read, and a fun mystery to try and puzzle out. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with smart, relatable amateur sleuths, well-paced clever plots that also have a lovely small town setting, then grab your copy and settle in for a delightful fall read!

My next book that I'll be reviewing to wrap up my August reads will be The Excitements  by C. J. Wray featuring two incredible WWII veteran nonagenarians intent on pulling off one last grand adventure. I truly loved the humor, mystery, history and heart in this one. The book cover image and blurb for it are both copied from bookshop.org.

A brilliant and witty drama about two brave female World War II veterans who survived the unthinkable without ever losing their killer instinct…or their joie de vivre.

Meet the Williamson sisters, Britain’s most treasured World War II veterans. Now in their late nineties, Josephine and Penny are in huge demand, popping up at commemorative events and history festivals all over the country. Despite their age, they’re still in great form—perfectly put together, sprightly and sparky, and always in search of their next “excitement.”

This time it’s a trip to Paris to receive the Légion d’honneur for their part in the liberation of France. And as always, they will be accompanied by their devoted great-nephew, Archie.

Keen historian Archie has always been given to understand that his great aunts had relatively minor roles in the Women’s Royal Navy and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, but that’s only half the story. Both sisters are hiding far more than the usual “official secrets”. There’s a reason sweet Auntie Penny can dispatch a would-be mugger with an umbrella.

This trip to Paris is not what it seems either. Scandal and crime have always quietly trailed the Williamson sisters, even in the decades after the war. Now armed with new information about an old adversary, these much decorated (but admittedly ancient) veterans variously intend to settle scores, avenge lost friends, and pull off one last, daring heist before the curtain finally comes down on their illustrious careers.

Ghostly Middle Grade Suspense Set in America's Most Haunted City

image copied from Google Books

This is the first book that I've read by Tiffany Jackson and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The fact that this novel is set in Savannah, GA, one of my favorite southern cities to visit, captured my interest right away. Then when I read the blurb and discovered that it also involves a mystery surrounding a haunted mansion, I was hooked. 

Ghost in the Night follows twelve-year-old Harmony who is traveling on tour with her jazz musician father after the loss of the grandmother who raised her. Harmony's recent loss has led to her fascination with ghosts and proving their existence. When she and her dad settle in Savannah, GA for his latest tour stop, Harmony is excited to learn that it is the most haunted city in America. While on a ghost tour, she even believes she might have captured an image of one in the window of an abandoned southern mansion. Intent on investigating further, Harmony soon learns that the ghost she thinks she saw might be linked to the recent death of a beloved member of the community. Delving into what happened and who the apparition might be leads Harmony into more than she could've ever bargained for.

One of the things I loved most about this story was Harmony as the main character. Her voice leapt off the page for me from the very start. She's lively, independent, smart and very brave. Though I did find it a little worrisome that she was given so much independence to wander about strange cities on her own. However, being raised by a single parent who is also a touring musician did lend some credence to this for me. It was enough to suspend my disbelief for the purposes of the story. The other elements I enjoyed about this book were the historical details that were woven into the plot. As someone who has visited Savannah many times, I truly appreciated the Black history woven into the story. Especially, about one of the historic squares and why that particular one is believed to be so haunted. Jackson included this information in a way that made it an integral element of the plot. For instance, we learn right along with Harmony the backstory of the formerly named Calhoun Square and why it's so haunted while she's on her first ghost tour in Savannah. In another part of the story, one of the places Harmony and her friends visit in their search for clues actually offers up interesting bits of history along with further leads for them to follow. It is a clever way to give the reader historical facts about the setting while also moving the plot forward. 

Another important aspect about this book is its portrayal of the different ways people handle grief while also tying it to mysterious paranormal elements. It also reveals the different ways people view the supernatural, as well as questioning whether tragedies of the past should be commercialized for entertainment and profit. Should the spirits, if they're out there, be allowed to rest in peace? I recommend you read Ghost in the Night  to come to your own conclusion about that. 

Stay tuned for my next review of debut cozy mystery Murder at the Agency by Kylie Forsythe. The blurb and book cover are both copied from bookshop.org. I'll also be doing a book spotlight in a couple of days for YA suspense thriller, The Hardest Ones to Fool by Christina Li. The book blurb and cover for it were also copied from bookshop.org.

Who knew the marketing world could be so dangerous?

Just when it seems like everything in twenty-eight year old Cassidy Blayne's life is falling apart, a thrilling coffee shop encounter leads to the opportunity of a lifetime. Landing her dream job as Creative Director with an elite advertising firm in a nearby lakeside town fills her with renewed purpose. She's no longer going to allow herself to settle, and resolves to rebuild her life on her own terms.

But from the moment she steps foot out of the elevator, she senses things may not be as they seem at Turner & Nash Advertising. Despite her wariness, Cassie puts all her energy into landing her first big account. Arriving early on the day of the presentation, she's shocked to find one of the owners dead and herself a suspect.

She embarks on a desperate search for answers, unknowingly putting her and the people she cares about in danger. As she pieces things together with some help from her spunky new roommate, twin childhood best friends, an uptight detective, and a gorgeous up-and-coming rock star, warnings and threats escalate. It's clear the killer will stop at nothing to keep her quiet.

Cassie must risk everything to unravel the murder before someone takes her off the market for good.

Amelia Wu is great at relationships. So great, in fact, that she’s in three of them. Why choose between the suave debate team captain, the charming indie filmmaker, and the tennis star when she can be with them all?

The catch? None of them know about each other. It works perfectly. They’re in love with her—or the versions of her that they get. Amy. Ellie. Mia. And she’s in love with the lavish dinners, fancy yacht trips, and expensive gifts. Times three.

But schemes always get complicated, don’t they? When Amelia's best friend ends up dead, her alleged murder shocks their placid beachside city. And soon, Amelia's carefully planned relationships start to dangerously unravel.

In a fit of desperation, Amelia teams up with her academic nemesis Jackie, the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and a self-proclaimed true crime junkie, to get to the bottom of this.

After all, Amelia needs to keep her boyfriends close and her enemies closer if she wants to keep her scam—and herself—afloat.