Friday, February 24, 2017

Murder by the Book by Devorah Fox - Book Review




Book: Murder by the Book
Author: Devorah Fox

Print Length: 27 pages

Publisher: Mike Byrnes and Associates, Inc.
Publication Date: 27 February, 2017


ASIN: B01CC3NJQO

Synopsis:
An ordinary work day at the western Massachusetts Sugarloaf Inn turns more chilling than the winter weather when staff member Candy Wadsen makes a gruesome discovery. Her day goes from bad to worse when Candy realizes that Detective Sergeant Dan Petrowski suspects her of committing the crime.

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

Murder by the Book by Devorah Fox is a short cozy mystery and exciting novella, and what I hope would be the first in a series.
The main character Candy is an average person, who is seen by her colleagues as naïve and sheltered.

She goes to work one morning to discover her boss dead on his desk. After she calls the police and other work colleagues start filing in, Candy begins to see that her boss was not simply mean but that almost each of her colleagues had a reason to want him dead.

"No sign of forced entry. No sign of a struggle. Seems to me it had to be done by someone who could just walk into his office, pick up the letter opener, and get close enough to him to stab him. That'd be you, wouldn't it?"

Candy has a sarcastic side, that is very realistic especially about the work place. We are told that Candy is always the first one in the office every morning.

"The door to her boss's office was ajar. Sleink himself in early? Incredible, Candy thought."

Her conversations with each of them, and the way each worker in the hotel expects another to have committed the murder, open her eyes to the dark side of her – now – former boss.

I related to Candy immediately after I discovered she was a bookworm with an interest in mystery novels.

"Innocent or guilty, the accused in the mystery novels she read always "swore" that they didn't do it. Candy never found that particularly convincing and yet here she just did the same thing."

The novella is too short for much character development, but at least Candy has had to learn the truth about her boss and all her colleagues, although most truths weren't nice ones. There may also be a possible romance with the new police officer, Petrowski.

Murder by the Book is an interesting book title. I particularly liked how Candy and Petrowski solved the murder.

"The alcohol in Edna's breath told Candy that the woman had more likely spent the morning with Jim Beam than with Earl Grey."

Murder by the Book is a highly recommended novella by Devorah Fox, a first time author for me, but definitely not a last time one.

Overall rating: 4.5 stars

Note: I received a free copy of Murder by the Book via Escape with Lori's Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review as a part of a blog tour for the book.


About the Author 
Devorah Fox, Author of Murder by the Book


"What if?" Those two words all too easily send Devorah Fox spinning into flights of fancy. Best-selling author of an award-winning literary historical fantasy series and several thrillers, she also penned Mystery Mini Short Reads and contributed short stories to popular fantasy anthologies. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she now lives on the Texas Gulf Coast with rescued tabby cats ... and a dragon named Inky. 


Author Links

Connect with Devorah via her Website, Twitter, Facebook page, Amazon author page, Smashwords, Youtube, Google+, PinterestAuthorgraph and Goodreads.

Purchase the book via AMAZON for $0.99 or Smashwords


FOLLOW THE TOUR 

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