Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
What an intriguing job CeCe has in this hard hitting, yet humorous cozy mystery. A wronged wife, whose husband has disappeared with all the cash in the bank account, plus another woman . Cece is crushed, but determined to get a job and stand on her own....the best she can do is clean crime scenes and other disasters, for a cleaning company. She has two teen daughters to raise and a very mean mother in law. I love Cece's strength, humor, and her determination. So wonderful to read story populated with smart, emotionally strong women.
Merged review:
What an intriguing job CeCe has in this hard hitting, yet humorous cozy mystery. A wronged wife, whose husband has disappeared with all the cash in the bank account, plus another woman . Cece is crushed, but determined to get a job and stand on her own....the best she can do is clean crime scenes and other disasters, for a cleaning company. She has two teen daughters to raise and a very mean mother in law. I love Cece's strength, humor, and her determination. So wonderful to read story populated with smart, emotionally strong women.
Merged review:
What an intriguing job CeCe has in this hard hitting, yet humorous cozy mystery. A wronged wife, whose husband has disappeared with all the cash in the bank account, plus another woman . Cece is crushed, but determined to get a job and stand on her own....the best she can do is clean crime scenes and other disasters, for a cleaning company. She has two teen daughters to raise and a very mean mother in law. I love Cece's strength, humor, and her determination. So wonderful to read story populated with smart, emotionally strong women.
This is a brand new cozy series and I think it is going to be a winner!
As the author's website says, she writes books about women with class, sass, and a touch of kick-ass, and Murder is a Dirty Business and the main character, Cece Cavanaugh, definitely fit that description. Cece finds out at the beginning of this story that her husband is leaving her for a younger woman. To top it off, he has cleaned out the bank accounts and she has nothing to her name but a huge house that is six months behind on the mortgage payments. She also has two daughters, one that is a spoiled brat, and the other is self-sufficient (thank goodness!), and a very controlling mother-in-law. But does Cece let any of this get her down? Heck no! She goes out and finds a job that will pay the bills. Of course, it is a job that I probably wouldn't want to do - clean up crime scenes. But Cece finds that this is her niche, especially since she is a former nurse so if there is any blood it isn't going to affect her too much.
There was so much that I enjoyed about this book: Cece's character, the hunky detective, a mystery to solve and lots of humor. But just so you don't think that she is automatically going to find romance with the detective, there is a condo developer that has taken a shine to Cece too. After all these years in a controlling marriage, she should get out there and play the field. Cece finds herself pulled into a murder investigation since her daughter's friend is being accused of murdering her husband. Cece has known Karen many years and can't believe this is possible. Plus the body was found at a B&B where Karen, Jessie (her daughter) and another friend were staying for the night. And wouldn't you know that her new job has her at the B&B to clean up the scene, perfect for a little snooping to see what might have been missed by the police.
The mystery was well written and there are several suspects to choose from to be the killer. However, the actual killer was quite a surprise because this character was not on my radar. The reasoning made sense but sadly it was all for naught. I don't want to say too much and give away the ending.
The only thing I hope doesn't happen is that Cece just signs the divorce papers presented to her because from what was mentioned, it was not in her favor and she needs to get what she can from Philip, if not for herself then for her sixteen year old daughter. Hopefully, her friend, Angie, will keep her from doing anything rash. Angie is definitely the friend we all need!
We give this book 4 1/2 paws and highly recommend it to you the next time you are looking for empowering to read.
As the author's website says, she writes books about women with class, sass, and a touch of kick-ass, and Murder is a Dirty Business and the main character, Cece Cavanaugh, definitely fit that description. Cece finds out at the beginning of this story that her husband is leaving her for a younger woman. To top it off, he has cleaned out the bank accounts and she has nothing to her name but a huge house that is six months behind on the mortgage payments. She also has two daughters, one that is a spoiled brat, and the other is self-sufficient (thank goodness!), and a very controlling mother-in-law. But does Cece let any of this get her down? Heck no! She goes out and finds a job that will pay the bills. Of course, it is a job that I probably wouldn't want to do - clean up crime scenes. But Cece finds that this is her niche, especially since she is a former nurse so if there is any blood it isn't going to affect her too much.
There was so much that I enjoyed about this book: Cece's character, the hunky detective, a mystery to solve and lots of humor. But just so you don't think that she is automatically going to find romance with the detective, there is a condo developer that has taken a shine to Cece too. After all these years in a controlling marriage, she should get out there and play the field. Cece finds herself pulled into a murder investigation since her daughter's friend is being accused of murdering her husband. Cece has known Karen many years and can't believe this is possible. Plus the body was found at a B&B where Karen, Jessie (her daughter) and another friend were staying for the night. And wouldn't you know that her new job has her at the B&B to clean up the scene, perfect for a little snooping to see what might have been missed by the police.
The mystery was well written and there are several suspects to choose from to be the killer. However, the actual killer was quite a surprise because this character was not on my radar. The reasoning made sense but sadly it was all for naught. I don't want to say too much and give away the ending.
The only thing I hope doesn't happen is that Cece just signs the divorce papers presented to her because from what was mentioned, it was not in her favor and she needs to get what she can from Philip, if not for herself then for her sixteen year old daughter. Hopefully, her friend, Angie, will keep her from doing anything rash. Angie is definitely the friend we all need!
We give this book 4 1/2 paws and highly recommend it to you the next time you are looking for empowering to read.
This was my first ever cozy mystery. I wanted to know what the genre was all about and picked this one because I'd met the author. I found it entertaining and it kept my attention. It seemed to follow the convention I'd been told in a class were called for by readers of this genre.
There were enough clues and red herrings to keep me guessing until the amateur sleuth revealed what she thought had happened. And it was so well done that I believed it, even though it hadn't been the right answer.
I can't wait for book 2 to come out.
There were enough clues and red herrings to keep me guessing until the amateur sleuth revealed what she thought had happened. And it was so well done that I believed it, even though it hadn't been the right answer.
I can't wait for book 2 to come out.
You can find all of my reviews on my blog at That's What She's Reading.
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.
I have always had an interest in reading books or watching programs about crime scenes, especially from the coroner's or medical examiner's perspective. Recently, I watched a short documentary about a crime scene cleanup company and went down the rabbit hole of videos available on YouTube. When this book showed up featuring this unique profession, I had to read it! I'm so glad that I did, especially since I got to it at the beginning of what I hope will become a larger series!
Cece is a fantastic lead! She's sassy, holds her own, and has an amazing strength of character. I admired that from the moment her husband left, she was picking up the pieces and figuring out what she needed to do next in order for her family to survive. I really appreciated how much resolve Cece exhibited and that while she was by no means in denial about the predicament her husband left her in, she hardly spent any time wallowing in negativity. She was definitely wronged and expresses her emotions about it; however, she focuses a greater amount of her energy on how she is going to keep things running as smoothly as possible not only for herself, but more importantly for her children. When things get tough, the tough get going and Cece has her work cut out for her! She surprises everyone close to her, including herself, and ultimately realizes that it's never too late to start over.
An interesting aspect of the writing that I thought worked amazingly well was how each chapter began with a humorous quote from a different character which read more like an answer to a interrogation question. These insights provided a lot of great information about each character that added layers to their individual stories as well as the overall mystery. They weren't repeated in context within the book, but contributed to the sharp wit of the story. I don't see this done well very often, but this was a great example of incorporating that kind of element into the story especially within the framework of a mystery.
Given that the story focuses on crime scene cleanup, there aren't any of the gory details, so no worries for anyone who may be squeamish. This is a fast-paced, entertaining, and engaging story with a highly believable accidental amateur sleuth that was hard to put down. This is a great addition to the cozy world and I look forward to reading what Cece has to cleanup next!
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.
I have always had an interest in reading books or watching programs about crime scenes, especially from the coroner's or medical examiner's perspective. Recently, I watched a short documentary about a crime scene cleanup company and went down the rabbit hole of videos available on YouTube. When this book showed up featuring this unique profession, I had to read it! I'm so glad that I did, especially since I got to it at the beginning of what I hope will become a larger series!
Cece is a fantastic lead! She's sassy, holds her own, and has an amazing strength of character. I admired that from the moment her husband left, she was picking up the pieces and figuring out what she needed to do next in order for her family to survive. I really appreciated how much resolve Cece exhibited and that while she was by no means in denial about the predicament her husband left her in, she hardly spent any time wallowing in negativity. She was definitely wronged and expresses her emotions about it; however, she focuses a greater amount of her energy on how she is going to keep things running as smoothly as possible not only for herself, but more importantly for her children. When things get tough, the tough get going and Cece has her work cut out for her! She surprises everyone close to her, including herself, and ultimately realizes that it's never too late to start over.
An interesting aspect of the writing that I thought worked amazingly well was how each chapter began with a humorous quote from a different character which read more like an answer to a interrogation question. These insights provided a lot of great information about each character that added layers to their individual stories as well as the overall mystery. They weren't repeated in context within the book, but contributed to the sharp wit of the story. I don't see this done well very often, but this was a great example of incorporating that kind of element into the story especially within the framework of a mystery.
Given that the story focuses on crime scene cleanup, there aren't any of the gory details, so no worries for anyone who may be squeamish. This is a fast-paced, entertaining, and engaging story with a highly believable accidental amateur sleuth that was hard to put down. This is a great addition to the cozy world and I look forward to reading what Cece has to cleanup next!