Sunday, May 30, 2010

Review: Photo, Snap, Shot by Joanna Campbell Slan


Anya Lowenstein, 12 year old daughter of Kiki, along with her friend Matilda, stumbled across the body of one of their teachers in the school's theatre. Not exactly a fun filled school day. It turns out the theatre had been used by some as a place for amorous dalliances but there were no romantic meetings there this day. Sissy Gilchrist did not die of natural causes, that's for sure!

Kiki's friend Detective Detweiler talks to her later and expresses his concern that maybe Anya and Matilda saw the killer get away. Detweiler wants Kiki to keep her ears open at school and around town to see if she can find out anything relevant from any of the other parents. The very chi-chi academy, the most desirable school in St. Louis, is not too forthcoming with details regarding their teachers. The school's head just want the case to go away but Kiki is determined to find the killer and keep her daughter safe. Good thing people like to gossip.

It seems that Sissy had made numerous enemies over the years including her ex-husband. Not only that, but the fact that she was in a multi-race relationship had a lot of people on the defensive. Even one of Kiki's friends told her if someone hadn't already murdered Sissy, she would have been happy to do the job herself! Wow, guess she did ruffle a lot of feathers! Where should Kiki start? After a lot of snooping, prying and putting herself in some risky situations, Kiki just barely manages to ferret out the killer and keep herself from getting knocked off too.

Once again, Slan managed to mystify me with the case. I love it when an author presents a well constructed plot with such diverse characters, several motives and numerous possible suspects. Slan, while injecting some humor into her writing, brings the characters and their personal stories to life. Along with the mystery, there is the ongoing non-romance between Kiki and Detective Detweiler, a plot thread I enjoyed throughout all three books. Photo, Snap, Shot is the third in the Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-craft mystery series. I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to #4 in the series. 4****

See my review of Cut, Crop and Die, the second in the Kiki Lowenstein series. For more info on Joanna's books, you can visit her website here. You can also read some recipes there and have a chance to see some of Kiki's projects. You can also sign up to get a free quarterly online magazine Joanna shares with Kiki.

Disclosure: A review copy of Photo, Snap, Shot was provided by the author, Joanna Campbell Slan. Thanks so much, Joanna.

8 comments:

  1. This book sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing it! And it's nice to know there is more where that came from!

    Have a great week!

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  2. It really does sound fun :)

    I like your Memorial Day graphic.

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  3. Not only does this one sound like a fun read but it also incorporates one of favorite hobbies..scrapbooking!

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  4. Kaye, many thanks to you and your penguin. Have a red, white and blue Memorial Day!

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  5. Suzanne, I've turned in Book #4, and I'm under contract for Book #5...so the series will go on. Especially when I have such lovely comments from nice people like Kaye.

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  6. Staci, there are scrapbooking tips throughout. I really do scrapbook, so the tips are usually well-received by crafters. Plus, there's a coupon for 20% at a craft site in this book, and coupons for 50 FREE digital prints in the other books.

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  7. You read such awesomely fun books!!! This looks like another excellent one that is going on my wish list right now!

    Beautiful Memorial day graphic!!

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  8. April, I hope it gets through your wish list and into your hands quickly. The coupon in the back for 20% off craft supplies at www.SpottedCanary.com is time sensitive. I wouldn't want you to miss out.

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