Thursday, November 27, 2014

Bea Reviews Organized for Homicide by Ritter Ames

Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing
Series: Organized Mysteries #2
Format Read: ebook
Source: from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 8, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords*
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Blurb from goodreads:

USA TODAY bestselling series!


Organization expert Kate McKenzie is looking forward to her newest consignment: organize the cross-country move for a divorced father and his two children. But when a dead body turns up, Kate's carefully organized plans are thrown into chaos. Was it an accident? Or murder? Kate aims to find out and ends up falling more emotionally involved than she'd expected when the victim's teenaged daughter becomes the police's lead suspect. As a mother herself, she just can't let the girl not only lose a mother but possibly lose her freedom and future as well. While the police follow the chain of evidence, Kate follows her gut, leading her on a dangerous investigation that could result in more than one death if she doesn't watch her step.

Bea's Thoughts:

I read and enjoyed the first book so when the author contacted me about reviewing this one, I said yes. It took me a while to get to it, but once I did I enjoyed it.

"Organized for Homicide" blends useful tips on planning and packing for a move with a mystery around the death of an ex-wife of a client. The client and his kids are moving across the country and have hired Kate and Meg to pack the house and make all of the moving arrangements. Even before the murder Kate and Meg find themselves being drawn into the family situation and taking sides. Add in an ambitious realtor, an anxious administrative assistant, two young girls clamoring for a pet, Kate's business nemesis, and a book fair that provides clues and the end result is an entertaining story that was a pleasant way to spend several evenings reading.

I did figure out who the killer was and what the motivation was pretty early on but following Kate and Meg's investigation was interesting and Ames provided some viable candidates for the identity of the killer. The addition of the cat to the story was less successful. Too full of conveniences and atypical feline behavior, the cat's role towards the end of the story was too predictable and unlikely. But, he's quite a character and I look forward to seeing him in future stories. The blend of small town life, Kate's family life, her business and the mystery was well done. Kate is well developed and well fleshed  where many times the lead in a cozy will be one note.

The Organized Mystery series is fun and enjoyable and this installment was no exception.

2 comments:

  1. This does sound like a fun cozy. I tend to not mind if I figure out the who and the why as long as the rest is entertaining. I'll have to give this author a try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was entertaining. I hope you like the books.

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