Tess Harrow is a best-selling mystery author. She and her teenage daughter, Gertrude, recently moved to Winthrop, a small town in Eastern Washington. They're remodeling Tess's grandfather's old hardware store hoping to turn it into a bookstore when they unearth not one skeleton, but two. And once again Tess finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation, both helping and hindering the sheriff, Victor Boyd, all while finding needed inspiration for her next novel.
Tess comes up with some wild and crazy theories about the murders, some of which turn out to be true. I like her push and pull relationship with Victor. They two of them make a great team. And their kiss? Very swoony.
There's also a young and handsome undercover FBI agent, Jared Wilson, in town, working on a case while pretending to be Tess's contractor. Tess finds his interest in her flattering. He's also good at following suspects. The fact that he makes the sheriff jealous is an added bonus. Jared's ineptitude at lying made him a surprisingly appealing character.
Besides taking care of her mom, Gertie takes an interest in forensic science in this one and starts spending a lot of time at the morgue with the coroner, Sylvia Nerudo. She was my favorite part of this book. I love her teen-age attitude and eye-rolling, and all her humorous interactions with her mom and the sheriff.
All in all this is another enjoyable cozy from Tamara Berry. I like how Tess uses her research and skills as a mystery author to figure out certain aspects of the case. This book is almost as good as the first one, Buried in a Good Book, which I loved. I'd give On Spine of Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Happy Reading!
P.S. This counts as another read for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.
An FBI agent who's no good at lying... I love that. :) This sounds like a fun one!
ReplyDeleteJared totally made me laugh.
DeleteI agree with Tanya that an FBI agent (undercover no less) not good at lying - might be a problem. Ha! I need to look for the first in the series.
ReplyDeleteThe first book is SO good. I think you'd really like it. :D
DeleteThis sounds great! The interactions between the daughter and her mom and th sheriff sound fun too. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what makes the book so fun. :D
DeleteLovely review, Lark!
ReplyDelete:D Thanks.
DeleteThat does sound like it would be enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI love the mother/daughter relationship so much. They're very funny together.
DeleteI'm enjoying this series very much too!
ReplyDelete:D It's a lot of fun. I love the humor in it.
DeleteOooh, going to look this series up as they sound like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteThey are! You for sure need to check out the first book. :D
DeleteOh hello, a new cozy to add to my TBR! Also, I think I might already adore Gertie just from your description of her in this one.
ReplyDeleteGertie is so fun! I love the relationship she has with her mom.
DeleteOoh, this sounds really good. I like that it is a mystery writer working to solve the mystery.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I like most about Tess! It's so funny when she knows weird bits of trivia because she researched something for a previous book, or when she uses what's happening in real life in her next novel. :D
DeleteI bought the first book on audio on a sale and now I just need to make time to listen to it. All my library lends have come through at the same time (of course) so I'm trying to work my way through them. Nice to see you enjoyed this one too! :)
ReplyDeleteMy library holds all seem to come in at the same time lately, too. It makes it challenging sometimes to get them all read before they're due. ;D
DeleteHi Lark, This does sound good and its interesting that Jared has not disclosed his FBI status to Tess. It sets up a situation later on when she finds out.
ReplyDeleteShe knows he's FBI because of another friend of hers, but his playing undercover contractor for her is still pretty funny.
DeleteI've been seeing this book around more and more. I need to get my hands on it. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteRead Buried in a Good Book first! :D
DeleteWell, this sounds fantastic! It's interesting to see a mystery author trying to figure out how to solve the case.
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I loved that part of it. :D Thanks for commenting.
DeleteThis sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. :D
DeleteThis sounds like fun! Another one to add to my list. :D
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun and humorous cozy.
DeleteI just got the 3rd book from the publisher and am so excited. I'm going to listen to this one soon and am so glad to see you enjoyed it and that Tess is still using her research skills. That was one of my favorite elements of the first book.
ReplyDeleteI like that aspect of these mysteries a lot, too! And I hope the 3rd book is as good as the first two. Happy reading! :D
DeleteI haven't read a cozy for a while. This one sounds like a good read to me. :)
ReplyDeleteThe whole mother/daughter thing in this series is very fun. and I love that she's a mystery author. :D
DeleteI'm really enjoying this series. Hopefully it'll keep going for awhile.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very fun series. I'm looking forward to reading the third book. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI agree that this second one isn't as good as the first, but it's still fun and entertaining. I just love this series! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun series. I think I like their mother/daughter relationship the best.
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