BONUS REVIEW: To Kill a Mocking Girl by Harper Kincaid

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Quinn Caine is back in Vienna, Virginia after teaching English in villages overseas for a few years after college. She’s living in a house on her aunt and uncle’s property and doing book binding work at her parents shop, Prose and Scones. Even her brother has moved back to Vienna thanks to a new job. It’s good to be back in town with her people.

Part of Quinn’s “welcome back” is a run in with Trica Pemberley, one of her high school’s mean girls. Tricia and her twin sister, Trina, are local real estate stars in town. But Tricia’s boasting wasn’t about the housing market, but rather about the diamond on her ring finger. She seemed to think Quinn would care that she was engaged to Scott Hauser, a guy Quinn dated for a few weeks several years back. As far as Quinn was concerned, Tricia and Scott could have each other!

But when Quinn stumbles onto Tricia’s dead body, at least one local police officer thinks Quinn might have been jealous enough to kill her “rival.” Quinn, her friends, and her family know the idea is ludicrous. But to keep Quinn out of trouble, she and her cousin/best friend, Sister Daria, are going to track down a killer.

Review

Excellent! Everything about this was a delight – the characters, the setting, the potential romance, the mystery, the dogs. All of it.

The writing here is sharp. I loved the humor and the pop culture references. I laughed out loud many times. The romance, which is typical for cozy mysteries, has great chemistry and didn’t feel like the usual cozy relationship. My favorite pair, though is Quinn and Sister Daria. They have such an unusual dynamic. They grew up together, but Daria has changed so much while Quinn has been gone. I loved both the creativity of the relationship and the execution of it in the book. The scene where Quinn has dinner at the abbey is a perfect example of how fascinating this dynamic is.

The mystery here is SO well done! Quinn isn’t tracking suspects as much as she is tracking clues. The suspects come later as she tries to make the clues fit. It was easy to forget there was a second suspicious death, but it helped complicate the sleuthing when it came up. I was guessing all the way to the end, which was so satisfying. The hook – the book shop and Quinn’s book binding work – was a character development piece for Quinn and other characters more so than a major factor to the mystery, although it did play a role. I imagine it will be developed more in future books. And I am here for all of them. Cozy fans should NOT miss this one!

This book is available now as an e-book, but readers will be able to pick up a print copy after July 7th.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥