Review: Enjoyable light romantic cozy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
YOU AGAIN reads like a cozy mystery mixed with a romance in a nicely balanced duet. Our heroine Allie works at the high school where she went to school as a teacher, and her high school crush, Sam, now a true crime writer, returns on what's supposed to be a temporary basis to fill an empty spot in the roster. Lots of people in the town where they grew up regard Sam somewhat dubiously because at least one of the books he wrote was kind of unfavorable toward their part of the state. Anyway, early in the book a former teacher's dead body is found during an excavation at the high school, and the mystery surrounds who killed that teacher so many years ago.Conflict rears its head when someone seems determined to keep Allie from solving the mystery or from dedicating a remembrance project to her and Sam's former teacher. Toss in some attraction between Sam and Allie but several difference of opinion, a controversy over whether or not the deceased teacher was even the person they all thought he was, and Sam's interest in writing a book about the teacher's murder and you have one suspenseful, breezy, fun book!I liked that this narrative didn't delve into some of the grittier sides of romantic suspense. While I like gritty books, I also like the variety offered by this one. Graphic violence and highly detailed sex are both kept pretty much off-screen without any loss of story flow and entertainment value. The interactions between the hero and heroine are a little clunky at times with the heroine's lack of confidence in herself, but not unbelievable. Allie's motivation for pursuing the mystery isn't far-fetched like some suspense romances I've tried. That part is also believable. I also appreciated the fact that neither the hero nor the heroine was in law enforcement, since that is a very common device seen in these books.Recommended for fans of light cozy mysteries and smallish town settings.