Brush with Death (The Gray Whale Inn
Mysteries #5)
Karen MacInerney
Publisher: Midnight Ink Books – To Be
Released 8th May 2013
Review Copy Courtesy of Netgalley and
Midnight Ink Books
With an upcoming gallery show and a popular artist visiting Cranberry Island, art is on everyone's minds--especially innkeeper Natalie Barnes. When Gwen, Natalie's niece, is invited to present her paintings at the art show, Natalie is torn between worrying about stressed out Gwen, the arrival of her future mother-in-law, and the threat of foreclosure on the Gray Whale Inn. But then Natalie finds Gwen's mentor dead. Will she uncover the truth behind this murder masterpiece?
I
haven’t read any of the previous Gray Whale Inn stories but I was able to jump
straight into the story and join Natalie with only a slight wobble at the
beginning as what felt like a hundred characters were thrown at me in the first
couple of chapters. After that though I was able to follow the immensely likeable
Natalie and her friends and family as they prepared to welcome a famous artist
to their island. Previous stories would probably make me appreciate some of the
character development better but to be honest I never felt like I was missing
out.
This
was a fun, light read that just brought a smile to my face. The descriptions of
food that Natalie cooks where mouth watering – and I was pleasantly surprised to
find the recipes for most of them at the back of book – I will be sampling some
of them soon! The story ambles along – not too slowly but never more than a
brisk walk as Natalie and her fellow islanders debate suicide verses murder and
gay rights all while knitting, baking and painting.
Comfortably
in the cosy mystery groove which only changes towards the end when the murder
is revealed when some real peril occurs for the first time. The murderer and
motive are not a huge surprise but that’s almost beside the point. In fact even
the murder seems like a sub-plot as I was more worried Natalie’s financial woes
and her niece’s art show, than an crime. I will have a look to see if I can
find any of the other books in this series as they are the literary equivalent
of chocolate chip cookies and milk: sweet, tasty and familiar.
Recommended
for fans of Janet Evanovich and Joanna Fluke. 8 out of 10
Oh would love to know if the recipes came out for you! I could see me pick this one up. You have the art and food. Yep, I love that in a cozy. I love that you could pick it up in the middle of a series as well. Cozies are like that which is a good thing for me! LOL Great review! Now I need some cookies and milk. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of these books! I used to love reading light crime/murder mystery novels when I was younger! I will have to look into these ones !
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