Dead Man Waltzing

Stacey Graysin owns Graysin Motion, a ballroom dance studio, teaching social and competitive lessons. Corinne Blakely, a legendary ballroom dancer and ex-wife of one of Stacey's instructors, Maurice, dies while having lunch with him, making him the prime suspect in her murder. Stacey jumps right in trying to find the real killer and save her friend. Interesting info on dancing competitions made this fun but the MC was really a bit silly and reckless in pursuing clues. OK.

I didn't enjoy this second book in the series quite as much as the first one. Perhaps because the murdered character never actually made an appearance in the book. The accused is the main character's beloved employee, but it just didn't seem as compelling of a story.

I really, really enjoyed this book, its mix of ballroom dancing detail, glimpses of Washington DC, some family drama, a little romance.

The danger of theme cozies is if you aren't that interested in the theme, the book suffers a bit in the reading. I'm not a fan of dancing - I don't dislike dancing, but I don't love it, so the theme of this book keeps me from getting lost in the story. It's a good book and I'd recommend it to any cozy mystery lover who would find ballroom dancing an interesting theme. The mystery is good; lots and lots of suspects with opportunity. I felt the ending was a nice departure from the cliche endings in so many cozies. Very likeable characters with just a soupçon of romantic tension. Great setting in Old Town Alexandria. If the theme had been something I found more interesting, I would have given this 4 stars. Still, I might read the third show more book when it comes out. show less