A Reference to Murder (A Book Barn Mystery, #2)
Charli Rae Warren is back home in Hazel Rock, Texas, spending her time reading, collecting, and selling books—at least, the ones that don’t get eaten first by her father’s pet armadillo. Running the family bookstore is a demanding job, but solving murders on the side can be flat out dangerous…
The Book Barn is more than just a shop, it’s a part of the community—and Charli is keeping busy with a fundraising auction and the big rodeo event that’s come to town. That includes dealing with the Texas-sized egos of some celebrity cowboys, including Dalton Hibbs, a blond, blue-eyed bull rider who gets overly rowdy one night with the local hairdresser . . . and soon afterward, disappears into thin air.
Dalton’s brother also vanished seven years ago—and Charli is thrown about whether Dalton is a villain or a victim. After a close call with an assailant wielding a branding iron (that plays havoc with her hair), and some strange vandalism on her property, she’s going to have to team up with the sheriff to untangle this mystery, before she gets gored . . .
Review:
My initial reaction after finishing Kym Roberts's A Reference to Murder? I want a pet armadillo too!
On a more serious note, however, A Reference to Murder was an incredibly engaging and fast paced read. Combining an intriguing mystery, charming main characters, and normal small town hijinks and quirks, A Reference to Murder is a book I just HAD to finish in one setting. It was a book that I actually fought sleep for just so I could figure out who-dun-it. Yes, it was THAT addictive!
As anyone who reads my reviews and/or blog on a regular basis knows, I love a good twisty mystery, and thankfully, A Reference to Murder completely delivered in that regard. I enjoyed that Kym Roberts' combined a past unsolved disappearance to that of a current disappearance. It was interesting to see how the two lined up, especially considering the two missing persons were brothers & celebrity cowboys. Additionally, the mystery truly managed to keep me guessing...all the way up until the end, I wasn't completely sure who had done it, which really managed to add to my love of this book. I always dislike when the mystery is so easily solved in the beginning.
An aspect that I found so utterly refreshing about this one? The lack of romance. This book primarily focuses on Charli's sleuthing ways as well as Charli continuing to figure out her role in her hometown, and I just loved it. Here's this main character who's not all that worried about romance, and while she does have some potential suitors, she's less worried about finding a serious relationship and more concerned about helping her best friend out of a bad situation.
The characters in this were also a ton of fun. Charli was a ball of dynamite - I admired her determination to get justice for the ones she loved most while also continuing to successfully run her book barn. Charli's best friend Scarlet was another favorite of mine. Sometimes I just wanted to shake some sense into her regarding a certain celebrity cowboy, but I also just loved the loyalty she had for the people in her life. Here's a girl who will support you to the end if she thinks you're innocent. The rest of the town also proved a lot of fun, sass, and love...it was so easy to get caught up in the world of Hazel Rock - it made me actually wish this was a real town I could visit.
If you're a fan of mystery, little romance, and one cute, sassy, and show-stealing armadillo, you simply must check out A Reference to Murder. I look forward to continuing with this series.
Grade: A
A Reference to Murder is now out!
Source: Bought
When kindergarten teacher Charli Rae Warren hightailed it out of Hazel Rock, Texas, as a teen, she vowed to leave her hometown in the dust. A decade later, she's braving the frontier of big hair and bigger gossip once again . . . but this time, she's saddled with murder!
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About Fatal Fiction (A Book Barn Mystery, #1):
Charli agrees to sell off the family bookstore, housed in a barn, and settle her estranged dad's debt--if only so she can ride into the sunset and cut ties with Hazel Rock forever. But the trip is extended when Charli finds her realtor dead in the store, strangled by a bedazzled belt. And with daddy suspiciously MIA, father and daughter are topping the most wanted list . . .
Forging an unlikely alliance with the town beauty queen, the old beau who tore her family apart, and one ugly armadillo, Charli's intent on protecting what's left of her past . . . and wrangling the lone killer who's fixin' to destroy her future ...
Perilous Poetry (A Book Barn Mystery, #3)
Releasing October 10th!!
Charli Rae Warren doesn’t plan on striking it rich as the owner of an independent bookstore in Hazel Rock, Texas—especially one with a pink armadillo as its mascot. But when an ingenious advertising campaign puts her business on the map, it ropes in some deadly publicity . . .
Charli can’t believe writer Lucy Barton has agreed to promote her latest Midnight Poet Society novel at The Book Barn Princess—or that there’s only a week-and-a-half to prepare for the signing. It’s all because of The Book Seekers, a smartphone app created by her cousin Jamal exclusively for Charli’s bookstore, which sends fans on a virtual scavenger hunt around town for a chance to meet the bestselling author. But as soon as it goes live, people turn up dead . . .
Someone’s using The Book Seekers to track victims and copycat the fictional Midnight Poet Society homicides, and horrified locals suspect Jamal could be the mastermind behind the crimes. While Charli readies the Barn for a stampede of new customers, it’ll take true grit to shelve the culprit before her brainy cousin gets locked behind bars, Ms. Barton backs out of the visit, and she finds herself up a creek—with a serial killer holding the paddle!
About the Author:
Three career paths resonated for Kym during her early childhood: a detective, an investigative reporter, and...a nun. Being a nun, however, dropped by the wayside when she became aware of boys--they were the spice of life she couldn't deny.
In high school her path was forged when she took her first job at a dry cleaners and met every cop in town, especially the lone female police officer in patrol. From that point on there was no stopping Kym's pursuit of a career in law enforcement--even if she had to duct tape rolls of coins to her waist to meet the weight requirements to be hired.
Kym followed her dream and became a detective that fulfilled her desire to be an investigative reporter, with one extra perk--a badge. Promoted to sergeant Kym spent the majority of her career in SVU. She retired from the job reluctantly when her husband drug her kicking and screaming to another state, but writing continued to call her name.
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Thanks for sharing! -Janet @ Silver Dagger Book Tours
ReplyDeleteAlready on TBR and suggest to library
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! I am not sure that I want a pet armadillo but maybe? I love a mystery that keeps you guessing and is hard to put down.
ReplyDelete