Friday 56 Rules: *Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. *Post it. *Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.Also Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader.
Title: Keeping Mum:A Garden Society Mystery by Alyse Carlson
Published March 4, 2014; Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery
Book beginning:
Re: Fundraiser/Mystery Supper
This Sunday a veritable who's who in Virginia at Hunting Hills Country Club will gather for a Murder Mystery Supper and Fund-raiser where Jared Koonz is expected to announce his candidacy for the Virginia State Senate.Page 56:
"Ella Chamberlain Schultz. Gold digger. I think Annie is her dad's primary heir, so Ella is better off with Senator Schultz alive than dead."About the book: Things start to go wrong from the get-go at this murder mystery supper. A well-known financier is found dead in the gardens of the country club, not the intended victim in the plan for the murder mystery. And retired Senator Schultz, Annie's dad, has gone missing. Annie and her friend Cam, both members of the Roanoke Garden Society hosting the supper, must find out if the two events are related.
My comments: There are so many possibilities here for solving the murder of the financier and the disappearance of Annie's dad, the Senator. The two women, Annie and Cam, with the help of their significant others, Rob and Jake, set out to find the solution in a maze of conflicts, suspicious motives, and interlocking relationships among guests at the mystery murder supper.
The different solutions for solving this murder keep the reader going. I wasn't able to guess the culprit(s) so this was a well planned plot. The main characters and even the suspects are fully developed personalities. The story line, setting, and people are realistic and seem very authentic. Because of the detail of place and interactions, in many ways a plus for the novel, I nevertheless felt this made the cozy a little too long.
You will love Annie and Cam though, and I would like to read more about them in future books in the series.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.
