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Title: Scoop to Kill
Author: Wendy Lyn Watson
Genre: Cozy mystery
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Tally had quite enough of murder last year when she solved the mystery of her ex-husband's girlfriend's death. Now, she just wants to concentrate on her burgeoning ice cream parlor business in her Texas hometown. But when her niece Alice discovers the body of a murdered grad student, Tally has to start meddling again to protect her niece. Tally's already got a wedding and a benefit dinner to cater for--what's one more project to add to the heap?
Thingummies: I was all set to give this a 4.5, and then the last line just killed it.
This is not literature. This is fluffy, non-threatening cozy mystery at its best. It does not aspire to be deep, provocative, or even particularly insightful. It aspires to be a fast, sweet, fun summer read, and squarely meets those expectations. The characters are charming, from no-nonsense Tally to drama queen Bree. The mystery is well paced--there are enough clues to figure it out, but enough red herrings to keep you from being sure until the end. While there are a number of books that I read and gave lower scores that are more worthy books in the grand scheme of things, the charm of this one is that the author knew exactly what she wanted to create and did that perfectly.
I have two objections. The second is kind of spoiler-y. Only not. I can't tell you why it isn't without spoiling. Sorry.
The first I realized early on, when I totally flipped to the back. Not to see the solution, silly--for the recipes. Yes, of course there are recipes--it's a cozy mystery. I don't think you're allowed to write those without recipes these days. Well, like the first book in the series, they're a disappointment. Tally makes gourmet ice cream, and the flavors described sound amazing. (Raspberry mascarpone, dulce de leche swirl with jalapeno, salted caramel...yes, please.) They don't actually trust you to make real ice cream, though--there are no recipes for any of these delicacies. Instead, we basically get "exotic" sundae ideas using store-bought ice cream. I understand they didn't want to intimidate people, but still. Pout.
More importantly, Tally spends the entire book trying to decide between her somewhat-reformed bad boy ex and the local cop who's always loved her. In the very last scene on the very last page (I'd say this is a spoiler, but my objection is that it isn't), she's holding hands with both of them. And she squeezes the hand of the man she's chosen.
That's it.
No, seriously, that's basically the line. The author doesn't say which man it was.
Really? A last-line romantic arc cliffhanger? No, no no no no. No. You don't get to do that. Arggggh.
Well, other than that, it's delightful. And now that I've completely spoiled those two disappointments, you probably won't be nearly as pissed as I was, so I don't feel too bad about that.
Author: Wendy Lyn Watson
Genre: Cozy mystery
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Tally had quite enough of murder last year when she solved the mystery of her ex-husband's girlfriend's death. Now, she just wants to concentrate on her burgeoning ice cream parlor business in her Texas hometown. But when her niece Alice discovers the body of a murdered grad student, Tally has to start meddling again to protect her niece. Tally's already got a wedding and a benefit dinner to cater for--what's one more project to add to the heap?
Thingummies: I was all set to give this a 4.5, and then the last line just killed it.
This is not literature. This is fluffy, non-threatening cozy mystery at its best. It does not aspire to be deep, provocative, or even particularly insightful. It aspires to be a fast, sweet, fun summer read, and squarely meets those expectations. The characters are charming, from no-nonsense Tally to drama queen Bree. The mystery is well paced--there are enough clues to figure it out, but enough red herrings to keep you from being sure until the end. While there are a number of books that I read and gave lower scores that are more worthy books in the grand scheme of things, the charm of this one is that the author knew exactly what she wanted to create and did that perfectly.
I have two objections. The second is kind of spoiler-y. Only not. I can't tell you why it isn't without spoiling. Sorry.
The first I realized early on, when I totally flipped to the back. Not to see the solution, silly--for the recipes. Yes, of course there are recipes--it's a cozy mystery. I don't think you're allowed to write those without recipes these days. Well, like the first book in the series, they're a disappointment. Tally makes gourmet ice cream, and the flavors described sound amazing. (Raspberry mascarpone, dulce de leche swirl with jalapeno, salted caramel...yes, please.) They don't actually trust you to make real ice cream, though--there are no recipes for any of these delicacies. Instead, we basically get "exotic" sundae ideas using store-bought ice cream. I understand they didn't want to intimidate people, but still. Pout.
More importantly, Tally spends the entire book trying to decide between her somewhat-reformed bad boy ex and the local cop who's always loved her. In the very last scene on the very last page (I'd say this is a spoiler, but my objection is that it isn't), she's holding hands with both of them. And she squeezes the hand of the man she's chosen.
That's it.
No, seriously, that's basically the line. The author doesn't say which man it was.
Really? A last-line romantic arc cliffhanger? No, no no no no. No. You don't get to do that. Arggggh.
Well, other than that, it's delightful. And now that I've completely spoiled those two disappointments, you probably won't be nearly as pissed as I was, so I don't feel too bad about that.
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Date: 2011-06-15 07:29 pm (UTC)From: