Review & Giveaway: A Killer Read by Erika Chase

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: April 3rd 2012 by Berkley Publishing Group (first published April 2012)

more details...ISBN: 0425247031 (ISBN13: 9780425247037)

From the publisher

For the first meeting of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society, six friends gather in Molly Matthews's old Southern mansion-including Lizzie Turner, a reading specialist with a penchant for mysteries. But the mystery book club meeting becomes the scene of an actual murder when a stranger is shot-and nobody knows who the victim is, or how Molly' antique gun came to be used as the murder weapon.

Then Lizzie begins finding mysterious manuscript chapters in her mailbox. As she and the book club members try to read between the lines, Molly surfaces as the next on the list.

My thoughts:  A mystery bookclub? Ooh, I've died and gone to cozy lovers' heaven!  Although the characters are diverse in age and social circumstances, Erika Chase makes it all work. And work well it does as she introduces her characters in an orderly manner so that the reader gets to know them well.
I really liked the fact that Lizzie is a reading specialist. It was also amusing to see the not so subtle rivalry between the former chief, Bob Miller and the new young chief along with his bad-tempered deputy, Amber Craig. Now there's one good ole gal you don't want to annoy!

 If you have read any of my cozy reviews before, you probably know that I like the action to happen right away and in this one it does. Mystery upon mystery as no one seems to even know the victim or why on earth he was in Molly's house to begin with and then to be murdered in her driveway.

Along with the murder mystery is the mystery of the missing objects. Who on earth is stealing all Molly's little trinkets? More importantly, why? They aren't worth a lot of money but they do have sentimental value. As the saying goes," the plot thickens"  . . . . .

With A Killer Read, Erika Chase is off to a very auspicious start in her new series. The characters felt like old friends right away and I loved the mystery-within-a-mystery with the pieces of  unexplainable manuscript that kept popping up in Lizzie Turner's mailbox. I actually got really caught up in that story right along with the main plot! It was a lot of fun reading what the characters like to read; a lot of recognizable authors and titles.  If you're looking for a fresh new cozy series in a southern setting, this one should be on your list of must-reads. 4****

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Due to the ever so generous Berkley, I am able to offer a giveaway of one copy of this book. Open to US only. Deadline to enter is April 14th at 5 PM (est). Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.

+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Win A Killer Read in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Good luck!