Jen Pitts

Samantha (Sammy for short) Richardson has moved from San Francisco to New Orleans, renting a furnished apartment in Thibodeaux Mansion in the French Quarter. An inheritance has given her the comfort of getting acclimated to the city before making the professional side of her dreams a reality. Only one girlfriend knows her main reason for moving to NOLA is to begin a search for her birth parents. However, discovering a diary with a key inside the book begins her acclimation to the city in show more unexpected ways.

A fun cozy welcoming the reader to join Sammy in exploring her new neighborhood. I loved the diversity of ages, backgrounds, and jobs of Sammy’s neighbors that naturally opened different introductions by their schedule availability, personalities, knowledge, and interests. I loved felines Cleopatra and Nefertiti, but I’ll reveal only that they live with a neighbor named Ruby. The mysteries of the diary and key that lead to a scavenger hunt, and a photograph the only tangible lead to begin Sammy’s search for her birth parents, unearth secrets that surprise beyond anticipation and expectation.

I look forward to reading what adventures are ahead for Samantha. show less

With its history, innate character, and distinctive culture, New Orleans is not a typical city. The Key To Murder, the debut book by author Jenn Pitts is not a typical cozy.

Turning 30, Sammy Richards felt restless and in need of a change. Following a lifelong love of all things New Orleans, she moves to an apartment in the French quarter and begins a new life in a new place with new friends. She finds a diary among the books in her furnished apartment containing clues to a romantic scavenger show more hunt around the city and is curious to use the clues to explore her new home until she finds a dead body and a possible connection to herself.

New Orleans is a character in itself, with its unique southern charm, and ghosts and skeletons tucked away in its hidden nooks and crannies. Any author writing a story set in this city must be sure to include its eccentricities. Jenn Pitts has done a masterful job in this respect. She offers the reader an insider’s view into this historic place but from the perspective of fresh eyes. Sammy’s enthusiasm for her new hometown spills over, the reader follows along as she learns about her neighborhood, taking in the sights, smells, and feels. This extends to the new people in her life, an eclectic bunch that fits their setting well. Each is interesting and dynamic with hints of its own history just waiting to spill over.
The mystery is a slow burn, beginning with the strange book and key as well as mysterious presents left on Sammy’s doorstep that none of her neighbors take credit for. She gets pulled into the mystery of the diary and the events that follow lead her in an intriguing direction that could shape the whole of the series to come and stretches the boundaries of the new friendships she has made.

I am excited for more from this author and this series.

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Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. show less

I loved the setting and the cast of characters, There were times when I was reading and had to stop and say, "You idiot!" to the main charcarter, but overall I enjoyed this cozy mystery.

For a kindle mystery book I was intrigued by the mystery as a whole, but I didn't really connect with the main character in the grand scheme of things. I have the the next two stories in the series so I will probably read them to see more of the characters in the story, because I feel like every character detail in the first story was more breadth then depth.