Review: A Must Read Mystery Cozy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2014
The Murder Pit by Jeff Shelby was a great cozy mystery.  It had all the elements that I look for when reading a cozy.  There was suspense, mystery, likable characters, a small town setting and humor.  The combination of all those elements made for a great read.The book starts out with Daisy and her husband, Jake, finding a body in the coal chute of the old home they have just purchased.  As luck would have it, Daisy had once dated the deceased but hadn't seen him for a long time.  Because they live in a small town, everyone knows every one else's business and soon friends and neighbors begin to wonder if Daisy was responsible.  Daisy's children are effected by this, so she decides she needs to find out who the real murderer is.  She has run- ins with the deceased's ex-wife and sister, and even gets in a physical confrontation with one of them.  But persistence pays off and Daisy does solve the mystery.The mystery and suspense were carried on throughout the entire book, and even though I had my suspicions as to who the murderer was, I wasn't completely convinced until it was revealed at the end of the story.  And I had not figured out the motive until, that too, was revealed.The main characters, Daisy and Jake, have four children from their blended family.  The children were homeschooled and I found this to be a pleasant unique surprise.  I really enjoyed reading the various activities they did because they were homeschooled.  Daisy seemed like a typical stay at home mom, except when she was trying to solve the murder, of course.  I thought all of the characters, adult and child, were well developed and realistic.The setting took place in a small town in Minnesota in the winter.  The description of the weather was very well written, and I could feel the cold and wind and snow as though I was right there.  As a matter of fact it brought back memories of the long, cold snowy winter we just went through.  Glad this time I was reading about it and not still living through it!The humor was carried out throughout the entire book.  I found the banter between Daisy and Jake especially funny.  And of course, the children helped with the humor through their actions and reactions.  I found myself laughing out loud while I was reading.  That doesn't happen very often when I'm reading.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a well written cozy mystery.  In my opinion this book had everything you could ask for.  The next book in the series comes out in June and I can't wait to read more about Daisy, Jake and their children.  I will also be checking out other books by this author.  I often wondered if a male writer good write a good cozy mystery and now I have my answer.  YES!