[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Emma Westlake’s travel agency wasn’t as lucrative as it had once been. In fact, as more and more of her clientele starting handling their own arrangements, she was starting to consider how she was going to pay her bills.
The Friend for Hire idea wasn’t Emma’s but it seemed to be working. She had the older woman she had tea with every week. Then there was the elderly man who wanted a date for a Senior Center dance. And the middle-aged woman who needed a workout/accountability partner.
If only Emma had stopped there.
But no. She agreed to attend open mic night and clap for the writer who was going to read first. But right after telling her about the folks in the audience who wanted him dead, Brian keels over in the middle of his poem. Now, Emma is a murder suspect. And she’s going to have to find her own way out of trouble because the good-looking deputy is looking at her far too suspiciously for her comfort.
Review
Such a fun series launch from Laura Bradford! The set up is clever – I liked the business idea of Emma being a “friend for hire.” It builds her circle and pulls people in for this mystery – and will keep launching new stories and characters and situations for the future.
I got a huge kick out of Emma getting pulled into sleuthing by her cozy mystery-loving friends! The wink-wink nature of a few moments in the book really added to the fun.
The mystery was excellent, with questions and reveals all the way to the end. The set up for the crime and suspects was great. The only wrinkle for me in the whole thing is my fear that the author is setting up two potential love interests for Emma. Love triangles are not my jam. But I’ll have to wait for book 2, A Perilous Pal, to see how things develop. And I will definitely be reading book 2 since this was such a delight. This is a series I’ll be sticking with!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read