Risky Relics (Rose Hollow Mysteries Book 1)
Author: E. Z. Pennington
2.5 out of 5 stars
After her Aunt Pauline’s disappearance, Becky Olson is given ownership of her antique store and in Rose Hollow, Maine. Three weeks after arriving in town, Becky is slowly beginning to get used to the small town and has made a few friends. But Becky’s new life begins to crumble when she returns home late one night and discovers the body of Jessica Royce, one of the richest women in town. After realizing Jessica was murdered, the police tell Becky that she can’t re-open her store until it’s solved.
When her friends tell Becky that the police may not solve it quickly, Becky decides she can’t wait and begins to investigate on her own. She becomes even more determined to solve the case when the police later arrest one of her friends for the murder. Will Becky solve the murder, or is her new life in Rose Hollow already over?
I wanted to like this cozy mystery. The plot intrigued me from the start, and I liked that there were reasons for Becky to be involved in the case. Sometimes in mysteries like these, the amateur sleuth doesn’t have a good reason for getting involved. Unfortunately, there were multiple things I didn’t like.
I liked the characters. They were all entertaining. However, I felt like I didn’t really get to know Becky enough. I thought I had a good idea about her characterization, which was brave but also a bit timid and awkward, but later scenes were a bit contradictory. She’s supposedly stubborn and doesn’t give up, but that’s more stated than shown. She also sometimes makes fast judgments about people that aren’t always accurate.
The writing itself was a bit stilted sometimes, and there were some odd word choices and phrasing. I also noticed some mistakes with misspellings and two different last names being used for the same person.
This book wasn’t terrible, but it was just decent. There was nothing about it that really drew me in and made me want to read more of the series. I easily followed the plot, and most of the issues were stylistic, so I decided to rate it 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Current Price through Amazon Kindle: $0
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076QLLF91
(I do not benefit from the use of this link.)