Jo-Ann Lamon Reccoppa

Colleen and her sister go to their early morning appointments at Dizzie's salon . . . and find Dizzie face down in a sink full of water. She starts investigating for her newspaper, finding another body along the way and dealing with her ex-husband and hot boss.

While Colleen wasn't my favorite detective in the first book, she improved in the second. I found her more humorous and less stupid in this outing. It looks like a third book will be coming in the series.

Colleen, a soon-to-be-divorced mom, is a stringer for the local paper. Going out for a jog one morning, she stumbles over the dead body of her daughter's algebra teacher. Her boss offers her a column based on the investigation . . . only someone doesn't want her investigating.

This is one reason I don't really like cozies. Colleen should have been a bright character, and instead she was TSTL. She doesn't know the coaches on her son's baseball team. She doesn't know how to attach a document in show more email. She can't figure out how to get of her car after it flies off the end of the pier . . . and the window is open. Too much is told to the reader, rather than shown. This could have been a really good mystery, instead of just so-so. show less

“New Math is Murder” is a fun read. Colleen is a hesitant heroine. She’d like nothing more than to forget about the case. The best things about cozies is that they pit unlikely heroes against cases and if you look at Colleen and her behavior in the face of a murder she is the least likely of heroines. “New Math is Murder” is the first book in a new series and falls victim of that first book curse to an extent. We’re getting to know Colleen as she encounters her first case and show more much of the book is fighting against further involvement when any cozy reader knows that soon she will embrace or pursue it. If not, in a series, the lead comes off as the unrealistically least lucky person in the world.

In a first book, the author is getting to know the character. The character is getting comfortable in his or her world. The supporting characters that tend to be a little out there are making their first impressions and making them in a way that can sometimes be too over the top for readers. Reccoppa balances her extraneous characters well so that you can see how they’d be annoying to Colleen but aren’t over the top for the reader. They love and support her and we know that’s what she needs in her life and are happy for her and delight a bit in her discomfort.

I was waiting for a romance element in the story not because it’s expected of the genre but because it seemed imminent in the story. Colleen seemed to have chemistry with a few characters and perhaps that element will come later in the series but readers not comfortable with the character playing a long game will be disappointed. To add that complication this early would have read as trite so as a reader so I’m happy she didn’t go there just yet. Colleen needs time and most readers will be delighted to give her that leeway.

“New Math is Murder” hits all of the high points of a cozy and does it well. Reccoppa manages to keep the story light, the characters fun and the mystery fresh. I look forward to what comes next for Colleen and crew. show less

Living in any small town is an exercise in dodging the gossips. A small town in Jersey makes it impossible — except for when you commit murder.

Colleen is still reeling from the shock of her husband’s affair. Her best friend is acting weird, and her job at the local paper is providing a tenuous stream of income. Then she trips over a body on the day she starts jogging. What’s a baseball mom to do?

Determined that her best friend is innocent just as the cops decide she might be suspect show more #1, Colleen starts investigating on her own.

I recommend this book to people who like a determined female lead. show less