Review: Cozy Short Story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 13, 2012
Emily Castles, once again, finds herself mixed up in mystery and murder in the second book of the `Emily Castles Mystery" series.One of Emily's neighbors, Victoria, is receiving threatening letters. Victoria immediately asks Emily for help. Victoria admits that she made a video back in her college days with her former boyfriend and is afraid he's the one sending the letters. From what Emily learns, the tape is not anything x-rated so she doubts that is the cause of the threats and she wonders if Victoria might not be a bit paranoid.Since Emily's current job status is non-existent, she agrees to help Victoria at her local children's theater and, at the same time, keep watch for anything out of the ordinary. When the theater's landlord is found dead, Emily realizes something truly is going on and she's determined to help her neighbor.This is a short story - only about 70 printed pages - and it goes way too fast. I wanted more, much more. I enjoyed every minute of this story. The good thing about short stories is that you can pick one up, settle in for a few hours and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea (or whatever you'd like to drink - LOL). The bad thing is you can't wait for the next book to be published. That's how I feel with this one.The characters are very well-crafted and Helen Smith is a master story-teller. The story takes many twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing along with Emily. I'd love to see several Emily Castles' stories in one complete volume. That would be fun to read.FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.