Review & Giveaway: Murder at the Fantasia Fair by Jeannette de Beauvoir

 

Series: P'town Theme Week Book #2
Publisher: HomePort Press
Source: PR firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 27th, 2017 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Wedding coordinator Sydney Riley never thought she’d get caught up in a murder investigation, but she became an amateur sleuth when her boss was killed during Bear Week. Now she’s back, this time as the Race Point Inn hosts Provincetown’s venerable transgender event, Fantasia Fair… and murder is once again an uninvited guest!

It’s all hands on deck at the inn as visitors arrive for the week-long event and Sydney helps coordinator Rachel Parsons organize the occasion. Guest Elizabeth Gonzalez is attending with her spouse, Bob, who—as Angela—is taking a bold first step into a whole new existence. Angela, Elizabeth, and Sydney learn the ropes and politics from other guests, some of whom have attended annually for more than forty years.

But the next day, Sydney’s detective friend summons her to one of the town beaches where Angela’s body has been found—with a knife in her back, a knife stolen from Adrienne, the Race Point Inn’s diva chef.

Fair organizers and attendees try and carry on as Provincetown is overrun with police, press, and rampant speculation. Sydney, her boyfriend Ali, her friend Mirela, her boss Glenn, and a host of Fantasia Fair participants scramble to find out who killed Angela—and why—before the killer strikes again.

My Thoughts:

"Murder at Fantasia Fair"s blurb immediately grabbed me and I knew I wanted this book. It's rare for cozies to address serious or controversial matters so right off the bat, the book stands out. I can't vouch for veracity but the story did give me with some insight into both the trans community. At times, the story is heavy on the message and education but it was fascinating to learn.

Sydney is first drawn to the mystery out of curiosity, then her boss is arrested for it but she's convinced he's innocent, and then she's challenged by a friend to investigate both the initial murder and a subsequent murder. She also finds herself challenged to understand the impact that these events have on the local transgender community and the transgender tourists attending the fair. The events, both positive and negative, force Sydney and the reader to confront their biases and their thinking. It's not a fast-paces story, but more intellectual, on several levels. The mystery itself kept me guessing and there were some twists. I genuinely had no idea who the murderer was or why they did it. Sydney could be irritating sometimes with her interference in the police investigation and constantly telling them how to do their job. It grated on my nerves. She did ask some good questions but took some risks including one that seemed stupid to me but did succeed in cracking the case. I liked Sydney; she was funny, snarky, interesting, and relateable.

"Murder at Fantasia Fair" was entertaining, educational, and left me wanting to visit P'town again.

About the author ~

Jeannette de Beauvoir grew up in Angers, France, but has lived in the United States since her twenties. (No, she’s not going to say how long ago that was!) She spends most of her time inside her own head, which is great for writing, though possibly not so much for her social life. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or traveling… to inspire her writing. The author of a number of mystery and historical novels, de Beauvoir’s work has appeared in 15 countries and has been translated into 12 languages. Midwest Review called her Martine LeDuc Montréal series “riveting (…) demonstrating her total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre.” She coaches and edits individual writers, teaches writing online and on Cape Cod, and is currently writing a Provincetown Theme Week cozy mystery series featuring female sleuth Sydney Riley. More at JeannettedeBeauvoir.com

Find Jeanette Online ~ 

Website
Facebook 
Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway