Murder by the Letter (The Lettering Detective Cozy Mystery Series #1)
Author: Lisa Pevey
4 out of 5 stars
After being evicted from the building she rents for her stationary store, Mila gets a call that she’s inherited a houseboat from her uncle. Deciding to take a chance, she packs up her life in Los Angeles and moves to a small community in Louisiana located right on a bayou. As she begins to settle in, her life in upended again when less than a week after arriving, a girl names Cherie, hoping Mila will hire her, throws a net into the water and pulls up human bones, which are later identified as Mila’s uncle. Now, she is determined to bring his killer to justice so she can truly start to build a new life in the bayou.
The plot was intriguing with Mila learning the differences between living in the bayou of Louisiana after coming from Los Angeles, then suddenly getting involved in solving her uncle’s murder. The mystery itself had some good twists and turns. And the ending has some suspense when Cherie eds up in danger.
I liked the characters. Most of them were pretty fun and quirky. Mila is an artist and a dreamer. And as she starts to get used to the different way of life, she becomes determined to stay. Mila’s Auntie Roma is intent on taking care of her even though they’ve never met and are related by marriage instead of blood. Cherie added some more humor to the story. She’s called Critter Girl by people because she says she can talk to animals. There’s also Officer Ordoyn, a Game Warden who often looks the other way when someone catches too much fish and shrimp, but also takes it seriously when people’s lives are in danger.
I really enjoyed this book with its quirky characters and humorous moments. My only critiques was that I sometimes thought that things could have been written a bit better or written more clearly. And the story just didn’t draw me in at first. That’s why I’m rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with the characters starting over somewhere completely different than you’ll likely enjoy this book.
Price through Amazon Kindle: $0.99
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFTLT9GY
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