Cozy Mystery-The Museum Murder-Available Now

I found a feisty, funny heroine to fawn over in the cozy mystery The Kensington Kidnap, and I’m flying high that Pip is back for another fantastic adventure.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I just loved every minute of reading it.

When I read psych thrillers, I try and outguess the author as to whatever the big twist might be. With crime novels, I try to solve the case before the police do. And rom-coms sometimes result in a “yeah right – nobody is that romantic” response from me.

With Pip, and this type of cozy mystery, I just get straight-up enjoyment from beginning to end.

I wondered how Pip would be able to stumble upon another “accidental detective” case, but I needn’t have worried. This one is even better than the first and again, it’s right up Pip’s avenue of expertise.

Once again, her love of pop culture gets her a job that quickly turns into more than she expected. Of course, she’s been bitten by the investigative bug and is more than happy to help solve the mystery at hand (you won’t find a spoiler about it here).

We get a healthy dose of Most (who has new responsibilities) and a few characters from the first book make reappearances over the course of the investigation.

Guiding her along the way as Flis who may just be one of my favorite characters ever written. She’s ditzy and has no idea what she is saying most of the time (as I mentioned in my review of the first book, Mrs. Malaprop would be proud).

But she is always there to support Pip – even if it takes Pip a while to figure out exactly how she is trying to help! I love every scene between these two.

We also get a glimpse into why Pip and Flis may be the way they are. It comes early on and has to do with a phone call and llamas.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

One of the things I like best about these two books is the clever writing. These are books that you need to read carefully – not because you’ll miss an important clue (well, maybe you will), but if you skim, you’ll miss clever asides and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references or quips.

(My clumsy attempt at alliteration in the first sentence of this review is in honor of the writing tricks the author often uses).

Honestly, even if you aren’t a fan of cozy mysteries, you really should give this series a try. It’s witty, contemporary, and thoroughly engaging.

Author Bio:
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.