Natalie M. Roberts

Jenny Partridge's life is already complicated. She is trying to run a dance studio, deal with psycho dance moms, and keep up with her bills. The last thing she needs (or wants) is for the mother of her most talented dance student, Taylee, to be murdered - by poisoned cookie dough that Jenny was selling as a fundraiser. Now Jenny is trying to convince hunky police detective Tate Wilson that she is not a murderer while fighting her attraction to him. She's trying to find the killer as well as show more finding out who shot at her, who set off a bomb in her studio, and where Taylee is. On top of that, she is trying to stage her version of the Nutcracker. She certainly has a lot to take care of, too too much!

"Tutu Deadly" is a pretty good debut cozy mystery. Author Natalie M. Roberts does use a few of the standard cliches for a cozy mystery - cute, single woman struggling to make her dream job profitable (I kept thinking "why doesn't she charge more for dance lessons?"), who stumbles across a murder that threatens her livelihood, and the hunky police detective who initially suspects her but then sets out to clear her name. But Roberts manages to add some fresh twists that help make this book enjoyable. First is Jenny herself - she is laugh out loud funny at times, especially when she mangles phrases, but her love for dance and her sincere concern for Taylee is what makes her a great character. Having the book set in the world of a dance school with its psycho dance moms is another great touch (and provides plenty of suspects). While there is a lot of humor in the book (the whole sub plot with Jenny's friend James not being able to tell his mother he is gay is especially hilarious) there are enough serious moments to keep the book from being too light and fluffy. The mystery itself is well plotted with lots of twists and turns. There are a lot of little plots going on in the book (almost too many) and readers will have a hard time figuring out who the murderer is. Roberts deserves credit for not wrapping everything up happily in the end, since real life isn't like that.

"Tutu Deadly" isn't too too bad. show less

Second in the series and as fun and funky as the first. Jenny is a great character, down to earth, a bit reckless and a magnet for trouble. Her relationships with the supporting characters are varied & interesting. Looking forward to more in this series!

Poor Jenny can't seem to stay out of trouble. She's hoping and praying her girls win teh UDC so that, with the prize money, she can open up a dance store inside her studio. Finally earning her enough to stop eating Ramen noodles for dinner every night. But once again, someone wants Jenny dead. Her boyfriend/detective Tate will do whatever it takes to protect her from the mysterious person in the grey Hummer. Could it be a psycho dancer mom? A friend? Or someone in the dancing world?? Can she show more handle the ultimate betrayal? show less