Review: What a great #2 for the series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
I was a big fan of the first book-- a great start for a new/self (?) published writer.  It was little rough in places, but a fun read (IIRC I gave 4 stars), but with a little more depth than the typical 'light read'.  This one does have a few minor typos/gender change/word substitution sorts of things...very minor and not much more than one sees in a trad-pub, but as good as the last one was, THIS ONE IS BETTER.  The humor is not as evident and it was not a book I read all at once--I needed the occasional break, but only because it was GOOD and needed a little more savoring.  The characters move on and move forward and one feels very vested in what is going on with themOne thing I want to point out is that as a follow up book this one leans very heavily on events in the prior book.  Enough so that I wish I had read them consecutively--or at least closer together.  I wanted to go back and re-read the first one but my reading dance card is overflowing and I just didn't, which I regret.  If you can take the time, I do recommend reading #1 in proximity.The other odd thing seems to be with Amazon's cataloging.  When clicking on the author page I don't see both books, and the publication date for the first book appears to be after this one, the second book.  I suspect there was an update to the first book (which may negate my prior comments about the slightly rough edges) as the cause but I don't know.  In any case, this is #2 and #1 isMaid for Mayhem (A Gretchen Gallen Mystery "Maid for Murder Series").The only other issue that may bother some is that, though it's not a cliffhanger, there is a major dangling loose end that is clearly the start of the next book (my best clue being the teaser chapter....).  It is not enough to bug me, but if even the slightest sort of this bothers you, well, it's there.  The big dangling thread left in the prior book was tied in this one, so it does seem to be an effective and planned writing device.  Hopefully I remember that and re-read (or at least skim) this one again before reading #3 and hopefully many more.  And, like last time, I do plan to stalk the author's website, and I plan to do it more effectively this time around!SO, bottom line, a great mystery/borderline thriller in a nice Southern setting and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!JTG (or PTG depending on my mood and current reviewing pen name)