Scan barcode
A review by bookwyrm_lark
Freezer I'll Shoot by Victoria Hamilton
4.0
Review and interview originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Victoria Hamilton serves up a tasty blend of mystery, murder, and a touch of romance in her third Vintage Kitchen mystery. When mean-spirited Urban Dobrinskie turns up dead in the back yard of her family's cottage, Jaymie can't stop trying to figure out whodunit. With plenty of suspects, a smorgasbord of motives, and more than a few well-disguised clues, the mystery is complex enough to be challenging. I'm usually fairly good at solving cozies, but in this case, although I got several things right, I was still waffling between a few suspects until the denouement -- and I had the real murderer's motive half-wrong. That's good plotting, and excellent execution.
Hamilton throws in several interesting subplots, including a septic drain field in various stages of repair, a feud between mothers, Jaymie's take-it-slow relationship with her tech-millionaire boyfriend Daniel and her unwilling attraction to a sexy cop, and her angst over the vintage cooking column she's trying to start. I had no trouble jumping into the series with book three, but it's clearly a series; some of the subplots aren't entirely resolved by the end, and there are several recurring characters. Hamilton doesn't fall into the twin traps of cardboard-cutout characters or overly-eccentric ones; almost all her characters are nuanced and believable.
Clever, fun, and entertaining, Freezer I'll Shoot held my attention from beginning to end. I'll definitely be back for more!
FTC disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher/author/publicist for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review.
Victoria Hamilton serves up a tasty blend of mystery, murder, and a touch of romance in her third Vintage Kitchen mystery. When mean-spirited Urban Dobrinskie turns up dead in the back yard of her family's cottage, Jaymie can't stop trying to figure out whodunit. With plenty of suspects, a smorgasbord of motives, and more than a few well-disguised clues, the mystery is complex enough to be challenging. I'm usually fairly good at solving cozies, but in this case, although I got several things right, I was still waffling between a few suspects until the denouement -- and I had the real murderer's motive half-wrong. That's good plotting, and excellent execution.
Hamilton throws in several interesting subplots, including a septic drain field in various stages of repair, a feud between mothers, Jaymie's take-it-slow relationship with her tech-millionaire boyfriend Daniel and her unwilling attraction to a sexy cop, and her angst over the vintage cooking column she's trying to start. I had no trouble jumping into the series with book three, but it's clearly a series; some of the subplots aren't entirely resolved by the end, and there are several recurring characters. Hamilton doesn't fall into the twin traps of cardboard-cutout characters or overly-eccentric ones; almost all her characters are nuanced and believable.
Clever, fun, and entertaining, Freezer I'll Shoot held my attention from beginning to end. I'll definitely be back for more!
FTC disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher/author/publicist for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review.