– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –

To be published by St. Martin’s Press on 21 Feb 2017
Goodreads | Amazon

Usually sharp-witted editor Sam Clair stumbles through her post-launch-party morning with the hangover to end all hangovers. Before the Nurofen has even kicked in, she finds herself entangled in an elaborate saga of missing neighbours, suspected arson and the odd unidentified body. When the grisly news breaks that the fire has claimed a victim, Sam is already in pursuit. Never has comedy been so deadly as Sam faces down a pair from Thugs ‘R’ Us, aided by nothing more than a CID boyfriend, a stalwart Goth assistant and a seemingly endless supply of purple-sprouting broccoli.

I chose this book because…

Sounds like it was a hell of a party and I want to know what happened! I didn’t realise this book was part of a series until I looked it up on Goodreads after I started reading it; I haven’t read the previous two books in the series.

Upon reading it…

The party had nothing to do with the crime. It simply started off with a hangover, and then Sam was approached with a mystery. I suppose because I had imagined a crazy party with one thing leading to the next, I found this book to be a little slow-paced for a mystery and got bored by her publisher life. The story didn’t hold me in suspense like most mysteries do. Sam’s main approach to figuring out the mystery was inquiring for word on the street, which is more passive than I would have liked. There wasn’t any sense of immediate danger to keep me on edge until halfway through the book. But Sam is a likable character. She’s down-to-earth, has a good sense of humour, and I had a good time acquainting myself with her as the story progressed.

I didn’t think it was necessary to read the previous two books in the series to get into this one, as each book is a different “case” and could thus standalone, but looking at other reviews on Goodreads, most people have recommended starting with the first book, A Murder of Magpies. Admittedly, I might have been more invested in the story and its characters if I had started there!

★★★☆☆

‘Crisps are not food.’ They weren’t? I’d have to revise my whole food pyramid.

Foreigners think that all social interactions in Britain must legally begin with a discussion of the weather. This is not true. We are only required to talk about the weather in certain, very specific, circumstances. When the temperature rises above 22°. When it drops below 10°. When it rains heavily, or there are showers for more than three days in a row. And when it snows. Or hails. Or it looks like any of these things might happen in the next month. At any of those moments, weather commentary is obligatory.

One of the great things about working in a publishing office is that you can ask the strangest questions, and everyone assumes it’s to do with a book.

A problem postponed is a problem I can pretend doesn’t exist.