Monday, July 31, 2017

NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING by Bailey Cattrell

Publisher:   Berkley
Published:  May 2, 2017
ISBN:        978-0451476890
Genre:       Cozy mystery
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher  
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com


FOUR-1/2 HEARTS

 

After successfully proving she had nothing to do with a recent murder in her home town of Poppyvile, California, life for Ellie is moving along nicely.  Her shop, Sense and Nonsense is flourishing, as is her Enchanted Garden.  Her relationship with her long time crush, Ritter, is, despite the distance because of his job, moving along nicely.  Life couldn’t be better. To add to how well things are going, her brother, Colby, is in town with his girlfriend, Larken. And to top it off, Blake Sontag of Conscience magazine is coming to do a story on her tiny house! What more could a girl ask? Certainly not for that same Blake Sontag to be killed, right? He might be mean and nasty, but he certainly didn’t deserve to be killed…especially when suspect No. 1 turns out to be Larken. When detective Max Lang tries once again to take the easy way out, i.e., simply arrest the easiest suspect, Ellie finds herself in the middle of the investigation.  It is her knowledge of plants that points to the murder weapon and a host of possible killers. Of course, not everyone is happy with her sleuthing, however, as made clear when a mysterious black SUV tries to run her down not once, but twice. Can Ellie find the killer before the killer finds her?

BAILEY CATTRELL (aka Bailey Cates) is a new author to me under this name, but she won’t be for long.  Her latest, NIGHTSHARE FOR WARNING, quickly moved her to one of my “must read all” authors. Her characters are multi-dimensional and have some interesting changes and developments throughout the story.  I loved how Cattrell intersperses a bit of plant/scent lore into the story, giving the reader a nice glimpse into the benefits and myriad uses of aromatherapy. She includes some easy to do recipes at the end of the book.

The mystery unfolds in an easy paced manner with several possible suspects for the reader to consider along with Ellie. I had a couple I was rooting for to be the bad guy.  The setting of Poppyville makes for some interesting layers to the story—especially the old Sontag place. I hope future books reveal more of the secrets of those 30 acres.

The only issue I had with the story—which is why this is a 4-1/2 instead of a 5 review, is it appears Cattrell is following that trend so many cozy readers, including myself, dislike and that is the love triangle.  They don’t add anything to the stories.  If I wanted to read a romance, particularly a love triangle, I’d pick up a romance.  A love interest is fine…but the whole “which one do I choose” is annoying in a cozy mystery.  If Cattrell follows the pattern far too many cozy authors have undertaken with their love triangles, i.e., it gets heated in book 3 (or 4) and then books 4 and 5 become centered around the love scenes, I won’t be continuing with the series.

Cattrell tells a good story and is not an author you want to miss.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

 


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