I enjoy this series akin to Janet Evanovich (funny and light-hearted) and Charlaine Harris (Southern literature). After a long day at work, these stories are enjoyable to escape to a fun adventure, with quirky characters, and colorful tales of life in the deep south.

One thing that I love about the Miss Fortune Mystery series is that I can always take a break and dive back into it without feeling the need to reacquaint myself with the all the characters. To me, this series is like a warm hug or a hot cup of tea during a cold night. It's satisfying, enjoyable, and a pure delight.

You'd think these stories would get formulaic and boring after a while (after all, this is the 12th book!), yet Deleon always makes the story interesting and humorous. Plus, Fortune is still growing as a person, as she comes to realize that Sinful is a place she can belong, along with people whom she loves and cares for.

As usual, Ida is the level-headed one of the trio, while Gertie is, well, Gertie. I'm always worried Gertie and her antics would become too much for me and that I'd grow to hate her. But nope, I love Gertie the way Ida loves her. With wariness, exasperation, hopelessness, and a hint of warmth.

Carter puts it very well:

"And yet," Carter said, "you always appear to come out on the short end of things when the three of you get together."
"That's because I'm a warrior," Gertie said. "You know, charge first, ask questions later."

Oh, sweet Gertie, that is not a good thing to be proud of...

But what I truly loved about this book (and what made it 5 stars instead of 4), is that this story focuses on Ally and Fortune's friendship. I loved the way Deleon handled the issue, and I was very pleased to see the lack of usual toxicity of some female friendships that occur in other novels. Fortune stuck by Ally and made sure to have her back, even though she knew this would put her on the opposite side of Carter. (I swear, if I didn't already love Fortune, I'd fall in love with her after that beautiful, well-placed kick!)

To sum it up without giving too many spoilers, here's a wonderful quote from Fortune:

"I frowned. I hated when the man I had strong feelings for was also the biggest obstacle in the way of helping a friend. It sometimes felt like my constant state of existence in Sinful was being torn between two obligations.

Oh well. One of those obligations was looking at having her future destroyed. The other was looking at being annoyed for a while. Guess which one trumped."

Yesss, Fortune! Say it louder for those in the back!!!

And what really, really, REALLY made me happy was how Deleon handled the tension between Fortune and Carter. There was no angst or unnecessary drama. Both parties understood that they had reasons for acting the way they did, and they talked it out together without any mistrust or anger.

The maturity of the characters (despite the crazy shit they get into accidentally) is mainly why this series is one of my favorites.

And before I end this review... I want to drop the best quote I've ever seen:

"Some say the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom," Gertie said. "I think the fear of women is the beginning of wisdom. At least for men."