Murder of a Small-Town Honey

Even though I read this first Scumble River mystery after checking out the 16th from the new mysteries shelf, the 'spoilers' I knew about what would happen in Skye's life didn't prevent me from enjoying Murder of a Small-Town Honey.

Skye Denison is experiencing the humiliation of being forced to move back to the same small town she insulted at her high school graduation. If you think her many relatives, not to mention the rest of the townsfolk, have forgotten what she said 12 years ago, think again. The New Orleans fiancé who dumped her after she was fired sounds like a narrow escape, but her mother is determined that Skye get married. The old high school buddy of her older brother with whom she goes on a double date is certainly no show more prize. The Chief of Police was the object of her 15-year-old self's crush, but Wally is married. As for Simon the coroner, he may be single, good-looking, and comfortably well off, but the way he treated Skye at the grocery store made me dislike him.

The book opens at Scumble River's annual Chokeberry Days Festival. It's grown since Skye was a girl. Some of the businesses in town make a lot of money during the festival, so they're all for it. Other inhabitants are against it because it's noisy, disruptive, and there tends to be some property damage. Is that why the festival is being sabotaged? (What happened to the Cow Chip Bingo game was particularly bad.)

There's plenty of humor in the book (loved the way Skye dealt with the little tin dictator junior high principal when they met). The problems Skye faces as the first school psychologist in over a year were an interesting subplot. The murder has a double-impact on Skye: she's the unfortunate soul who finds the body and it's her brother who is the chief suspect. If you're interested in Scumble River history, see chapter 17. show less

Despite the interesting array of characters, the plot isn't a deep mystery and is almost a series of events that just falls into its own conclusion. Skye never did much amateur sleuthing as far as I could tell, with luck on her side. Also, while I did enjoy the people, sometimes they felt a little overdone to the point of putting in too much forced comedy. There were some cute and amusing moments, but this isn't really a laugh out loud sort of book, more of a cozy (which is always good). The small atmosphere fits the story - and the series - perfectly. Some of the dialogue seems a bit stifled and forced, not completely genuine, but overall this book was a fun way to pass the time and the pace kept my attention to a maximum.

Overall a fun show more and light read without enough substance to stand out too much. I really dug Skye as a heroine and look forward to reading about the characters again. show less

Skye Denison has returned to the hometown she never meant to live in again. Having lost her school psychologist job, she has managed to get the same position in Scumble River. It is not ideal but begger's can't be losers. No sooner has Skye arrived than she is coerced into working at the local Chokeberry Days Festival. When she tries to rouse the the TV storyteller, Mrs. Gumtree, from her trailer, she finds the old lady dead and, er, not old. She is really a young Honey Adair who spent her senior year making a path through the Scumble River male population, including Skye's brother, Vince.
When Vince is implicated in the murder, Skye is determined to find the real killer.

I enjoyed this book. Skye is a funny character. The supporting cast show more of her parents, friends and co-workers was well defined and likeable. Well, except when we are not supposed to like them. I got a feel for the small town right away. While it was not the best first book in a series I have read, I do plan to read the next in the series. I think there is a lot of potential here. show less

3 star
This feels less like a cozy and more like a traditional mystery in many respects. I like the main character Skye and her job as school psychologist gives her ample opportunity to snoop. Her brother Vince and Uncle Charlie are the only other characters I really warmed to as the story open. Simon the coroner her potential boyfriend starts out as a real jerk and while his behavior toward her from rude to attentive changes wildly we’re really given no good reason for it.

While I didn’t fall in love with the characters, I must say the mystery and the logicalness of the case really appealed to me. I’ll be reading more of this series in the future, in fact I signed up for 12 books in the Scumble River Challenge that’s what lead show more me to read this book in the first place since I’d never heard of the series before. I hope the next 11 books are as good or better then this on.

Cozies Reading Challenge show less

First of a series, set in a small town near Chicago. The protagonist is a young school psychologist. The book often reads as a first novel and could have used tighter editing, but is otherwise ok. And it's always good to see where a series starts

Smart-sassy and it will keep your attention.

Great book my only "issue" was that I already read some of the later books in the series and I wanted those storylines to be in this book as well. :-)