Review: Another Series Opener by One of the Most Reliable Cozy Writers
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2013
Vanessa Gray Bartal is one of our most reliable authors of Kindle cozy mysteries.  With a co-author, this book kicks off another new series in the genre  which promises more good light reading in the future. The heroine has her problems but is a sparkling young woman somewhat lost in the role she has chosen to  play: glamorous, always bubbly, television personality. As the book opens, she is in process of losing her job through exposing too much of what is under her dress on the air. Events and necessity drive her back to the small town in which she was born and raised, to her repressive former police chief father, her wonderfully supportive neighboring couple, and to the childhood male friend she deserted, to become a high school beauty queen before leaving town. A strangely worded Will from a  maiden "aunt" with whom she was very close, drives her to investigate whether that woman was murdered. In the process, she is drawn back into companionship with her one-time friend whose help she seeks in her investigations.As usual, there is a romantic element in the book, mainly in her fragile relationship with the boy-now, like her, in his late twenties. There are a series of adventures, false starts and  embarrassments, as the heroine pursues her quest. The authors do a good job of keeping these entertaining, with a pervasive humor.If you have liked any of Bartals other mysteries, you should find this an acceptable addition to your reading list. If you are a  persistent cozy reader, but are not familiar with this book, the same should hold for you. New readers will profit from giving it a try.