Review: New Corpse in Town by Lucy Quinn

Title: New Corpse In Town

Author:  Lucy Quinn 
Publisher: Seaside Story Productions
Publishing Date:  July 13th, 2016

Pages: 236
Genre: Adult Cozy Mystery

Series:  Secret Seal Isle Mysteries #1
Source:  Audio

 

FBI agent Cookie James is enjoying her extended leave from the agency on Secret Seal Isle, managing her quaint inn and flirting with the oh-so sexy-handyman, Dylan Creed…until her sixty-year-old mother goes skinny dipping and is almost drowned by a corpse.

A phone call to the sheriff should mean the end of Cookie’s involvement, but when it’s clear the sheriff has no interest in the investigation, Cookie calls in reinforcements…her ex-partner Hunter O’Neil. Suddenly it’s like old times while the pair questions the residents of Secret Seal Isle. Except it’s not. Now she has both Hunter and Dylan vying for her attention, a wayward hippy mother, and a potential killer on the loose.

With her love life heating up, her mother lighting up, and all signs pointing to the most unlikely suspect, Cookie does the only thing she knows to do—focus on solving the case.

I think I found this book browsing through Kindle reads one day. I grabbed it then forgot about it. Then it came out on audio. I figured I should read it. It was a very short and fast read and it was good for what it was. I do adore funny light cozy mysteries. This was just that. 

Cookie James got into some trouble with the mob. She was FBI, but since she had to go into hiding, she has been on leave. She is hiding away on a small island off of East Coast. She has started a bed and breakfast inn with her mother and things seem to be going well... that is until a dead body shows up. The local police doesn't seem to be too concerned, but Cookie is since the body was found in the ocean behind the inn. She is concerned it may have to do with her and the mob she is hiding from. The only thing she can think of doing is calling on her old partner to come help. Together they set out to find out what happened in this small town on this small island. 

This book was a very short book but it felt like just enough. It didn't drag and it didn't seem to be lacking. It was a lovely little read. I felt it was a little too simple at times and the character do need a bit more development but I am sure that will come with some more books. 

Speaking of characters, I liked the main character. She has some issues. She isn't happy with relenting control on any matters, she is just a little bit of a control freak, but she is confident and at the top of her game most of the time. So she wasn't all that bad. 

The other characters were fun to get to know. Cookie's mom, Rain, is a hoot. I love her to pieces. The two men in the book.... yes a bit of a triangle....:( Cookie's ex-partner, Hunter O'Neil seems pretty hot although a little bossy. The handyman, Dylan, well there wasn't enough of him in the book to really get to know him. So maybe in the next book. 

The romance was really not there. Maybe the beginning of one... but I hope it's not a true love triangle. I don't need another ones of those right now. But maybe there is a chance for a good steamy romance in the future...not in this book though. 

The story wasn't too complicated. It was interesting. I had fun trying to guess the who and the why. It wasn't easy but wasn't all together too difficult either. The mystery I did enjoy. I wasn't quite sure where it was going but I was happy to follow down the rabbit hole.

It was cute and light and quick. I will for sure read the next one. 

Lucy Quinn is the brainchild of New York Times bestselling author Deanna Chase and USA Today bestselling author Violet Vaughn. Having met over a decade ago in a lampwork bead forum, the pair were first what they like to call “show wives” as they traveled the country together, selling their handmade glass beads. So when they both started writing fiction, it seemed only natural for the two friends to pair up with their hilarious, laugh-out-loud, cozy mysteries. At least they think so. Now they travel the country, meeting up in various cities to plan each new Lucy Quinn book while giggling madly at themselves and the ridiculous situations they force on their characters. They very much hope you enjoy them as much as they do.

Deanna Chase, is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana. When she isn’t writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih tzu dogs, or making glass beads.

Violet Vaughn lives in coastal New Hampshire where she spends most mornings in the woods with her dogs, summer at the ocean, and winters skiing in the mountains of Maine.