3 out of 5
stars
I received
this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ponderosa
Pines was once the safest place on earth. But then Stacey Hawthorne, an
attorney on her way to the little town for reasons unknown, is brutally
attacked leaving EV and Chloe to launch into a new investigation. One that may
expose secrets of several residents and haunt the whole town.
First off, I
would not recommend this as a stand-alone. Not to say you can’t read it as one
if you choose, but you will get lost initially because there isn’t much
backstory into who everyone is. That didn’t detract from the mystery however,
so if it doesn’t bother you to not know much about the recurring characters,
you will still be able to enjoy the story.
With that
said, I did not read the other books in the series. Because of that, I felt
like I was the odd man out at a party where everyone knows each other and you
are the new girl. I think that may be why I was put off by the two main female
characters, Chloe and EV. They came off as nosy to me. I mean really nosy. More so than some of the
other cozies I’ve read. Perhaps if I knew more about them it wouldn’t seem that
way, but that’s what happens sometimes when you don’t read a series in order. Not
my intention. I didn’t realize that this was the fourth book. Not a big deal
really as I was able to get an idea of who everyone was eventually. There is one
thing that did bother me though that I do have to get off my chest. It was the
way they placed a bet with their significant others, who are actually law
enforcement, to see who could solve the case first. It just seemed very
unprofessional and cold hearted. But it’s a work of fiction, so I can get
passed that.
The town,
Ponderosa Pines, is small and seems quaint and charming. The residents seem to
be one big family. That is until you realize that the most popular publication
is a gossip column. One that seems to divulge a lot about the lives of the
people who live there. That kind of throws the cuteness of it out the window
for me. Plus, it’s even stated that you can’t have secrets there. If you are
new to town, the residents will do whatever they can to dig up everything they
can find out about you and won’t rest until they do. That just seemed super
creepy to me and made the little town lose some of its appeal. Of course I’ve
only lived in big cities so maybe I’m reading too much into it.
Anyway,
before everyone thinks I hated the book, let me just say I didn’t. I enjoyed
it. It was very well written and the descriptions of the characters and the
town really brought the whole thing to life. Aside from the nosiness, I
actually liked Chloe and EV. They worked well together and were believable. The
rest of the townsfolk were quirky and entertaining and I enjoyed the humor that
was sprinkled within the pages. I also loved the sound of Ponderosa Pines. Just
the name alone is cute and cozy and the description brought that out. The little
bit of romance that was thrown into the tale didn’t weigh it down like some
others I have read and the mystery was intriguing with enough twists to keep
the reader interested. The story actually started off somewhat dark, making you
think that perhaps this wasn’t a cozy after all, then it gradually lightened up
a bit and ends up fitting nicely into its genre. I do plan on getting the first
three books in this series and will eventually read them as I did like the
writing style of the authors. I also think by doing that, it will explain the
characters better and maybe the town’s residents won’t seem so invasive to me.
Total pages:
166, Kindle edition
Available on Amazon at the link below:
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