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Bea Cartwright has left New York City hoping for a new start on the quaint island of South Bass on Lake Erie. But she didn’t bargain for such awful neighbors! When Bea and her neighbors Chandra and Kate can’t stop squabbling, the local judge demands that they work out their issues by forming a weekly book club. None of the women want to spend any time together, but they temporarily forget their differences when they stumble upon a murder: The victim is the owner of a local Chinese restaurant. Together, these three ladies must look for clues and find the killer, all while Bea tries to run her newly opened bed and breakfast, and while South Bass is hit with the biggest snowstorm it’s had all season.
As far as murder mysteries go, this one was pretty lighthearted. I enjoyed the banter among the three main characters, all single women with strong personalities. The development of their relationship seemed believable. I also liked having the story set in a bed and breakfast establishment. It helped the pacing of the story to have guests pop in and out. Yet the plot still dragged in a couple of places and the mystery of the murder wasn’t that gripping. But I was quite intrigued by the mystery of Bea herself. She gives hints about her past and reveals at least part of the reason she left New York, but I am curious to find out more. If I read other books of this series, it will be partly because I want to learn more about Bea Cartwright’s past, and partly because a lot of fun and funny moments occur when three women who initially loathe each other end up solving mysteries as a team.
Rated: Mild. About a dozen mild swears and six moderate swear words. One sexual incident but nothing explicit. Violence is mild.
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