A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

 

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

I love Cozy Mystery Book Club because I get tons of book recommendations just from being in the club, not to mention all those that get namedropped during the meeting itself! Don't worry about missing it - you can watch it here, and join future meetings on the last Tuesday of every month.

I thought this was a cute and certainly cozy mystery. The mystery didn’t feel too pressing overall, but my favorite part was the ice cream flavors anyway. The writing was effortless to read and I loved the female friendships so I’m definitely going to continue this series. I've already gotten the second and third books from the library.

The ice cream was definitely what kept me hooked. I felt like the narrator and her sidekick friend skewed way younger than they truly were - maybe early 20s, definitely not college grads considering their lack of common sense and research skills. But suspending that belief, or maybe just letting them be younger in my mind, kept that issue from grating on me and keeping me from enjoying the story.

While there was potential for romance here, it wasn't explored, which I'm glad about. I have a black heart and am not a big fan of romance, period, much less in a mystery. However, I do acknowledge that the foundation is there for romance in later books. Since it didn't start up immediately in book one, though, I'll allow it. I find it tiresome when the sleuth falls for the detective or police officer right away. A realistic romance that takes a bit to develop is more tolerable, and the fact that this man isn't a cop is definitely better than the tired old trope I previously mentioned. He has a background in law, so I see how he could keep helping her out as well.

Most of all, I really loved the grandfather in this book. He's so supportive and set in his ways - definitely reminded me of my own grandfather! I'm eager to see what happens in the next couple of books, mostly because of him and the ice cream.

Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta

 

Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta

I feel like this was a Kevin Wilson idea written by Tom Perrotta. I always love a new Perrotta book, so it was satisfying from that angle, but I feel like the weirdness and drama could have been pushed a bit more. 

Overall, I think there wasn’t much to the story, it was pretty character-driven, but we also weren’t allowed to get too close to the character, so I feel like this was kind of a jumping-off point for my imagination to do the rest and make it more interesting.

With all that said, I do still love Perrotta's writing style, so there's that. But I wish there was something more here. When I first read the synopsis, I even texted a fellow Perrotta-fan friend and said I was worried it was just the same story told again. It brought to mind some of his earlier books, like Bad Haircut and The Wishbones. She replied that isn't that what we do as writers? Which... yes. And Kevin Wilson himself even said that in a workshop I took with him last December - he said he's just telling the same story until it's out, until it feels right. But I feel like he does push the limits to make things even stranger than you'd think they'd be.

I think Perrotta was dabbling in magical realism but maybe didn't trust himself to explore it more... or maybe wasn't sure his readers would accept it? Or maybe he didn't even want to take it there - I shouldn't assume anything about the process. However, I do think it would have benefited a lot if he just pushed it to its max instead of leaving it so lacking, it didn't make enough of an impact to really resonate with me.

Have you read this book? What do you think about it?