Review: Even Fun for a Pagan!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2013
Coda to Murder came from my publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, Inc., and Ms. Rose is a colleague of mine.  That said, please know that I always give honest reviews and have lost a friend from The Muse over a review I gave to her book."Coda" is categorized as a Contemporary Romance, although it would also be a good fit in the Inspirational genre, one which I normally avoid.  Ms. Rose and I discussed this subject when I was about half-way through the book.  She was worried the book was too preachy.Christine Hobbs is a minister who gets involved in a murder mystery within her own congregation when someone kills the music director right in there church basement.  Living in the parsonage and having keys to the church, Christine is the prime suspect.  How can she possibly lead her flock with possible murder charges hanging over her head?  How can she sleep at night knowing a murderer is on the loose?  And that murderer just might be someone she knows.  To add to her sleepless state, she can't get that pesky, hunky (darn it!) detective out of her hair or out of her mind.Christine doesn't just preach her religion; she lives it.  She practices it from the moment she awakens to the moment she falls asleep.  She begins and ends her days with prayer and throughout the day she mutters little "booster" prayers.  Nothing big--no fancy Masses.  Her prayers during the day are as simples as "Please don't let the murderer be here now," or "Thanks, God."  I was raised in a church similar to the one Pastor Hobbs shepherds, and this book brought back some fond memories to me.Having drifted in a totally different direction and not needing to be roped back, I didn't want to read a preachy book.  I respect people who live what they believe, whether or not they're in a position of leadership--but if they are in that position, then I especially think they should live what they preach.  Christine, however, is also very human.  She eats pizza and has an occasional beer with her best friend who teases her about the hunky detective.  She questions her feelings about him and asks both her human and Divine BFFs for advice before deciding whether or not to trust him.Did I mention that she even helps her parishioners care for their pets?  The cat she adopts when one elderly parishioner dies is kind of a given.  But the pig and the kangaroo?  Well, they're kind of what drew me to this book.  And I'm really glad they did.  It wasn't preachy at all.  It was a fun read about a woman who lives and practices what she believes.  I can respect that, and enjoy my friend's talent for spinning a tale that keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering who did it and laughing out loud at the same time.  Yeah, it's a great Contemporary-Cozy Mystery-Romance with a bit of Inspiration thrown in if you want some. I highly recommend Coda to Murder, and I would even if I'd never corresponded with Ms. Rose.