Review: Showstoppers
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2011
The cozy mystery is a sub-genre I couldn't have defined or even known had  I seen  it. Luckily Wikipedia purports to answer all my questions. Among other things, Wikipedia says cozy mysteries are built around the inhabitants of a small, insular community (a London neighborhood in this case), with characters that are often eccentric and provide comic relief. The emphasis is on puzzle solving, with the protagonist using their intelligence and knowledge of the community dynamics to solve the mystery. Examples of the genre given included Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books and the American television series, "Murder, She Wrote."Having read several of Helen Smith's books, it struck me how well the cozy mystery sub-genre plays to her strengths as a writer. Her prose is comfortable (dare I say cozy?) while still feeling more literary than a typical genre book. Her books are full of humor, but it is subtle -- if you aren't paying attention, it will fly past and you'll miss it. More Woody Allen or Steven Wright than Mel Brooks or Benny Hill. More intellectual (or assuming intelligence on the part of the reader) than slapstick.If I had any complaint with "Three Sisters," the first book in this series, it would be that I  was well into the book before finding out what the "mystery" was. This isn't an issue with "Showstoppers," as we find out about the mystery (or at least the initial mystery) early on. As Emily works toward the solution, we meet plenty of those quirky characters and Smith gives us numerous puzzle pieces to decipher along with Emily.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **