Peril at the Party, book one in Aubrey Elle’s Missteps of Murder series. Anna has moved back home after her divorce and gets a job working at the Baycourt. All seems mostly well during the night’s wedding reception for the Lanes-Diaz wedding, but murder is about to create quite a shake-up. Who would want to murder the Father and why? The suspects are many as the Father was less than liked, but one family secret is about to come to full light.
Peril at the Party is the first book that I’ve read by Aubrey Elle, and I have to applaud the author for how quickly I was whisked away into the storyline. The Baycourt is already in trouble, and the last thing that Sean and his Gramma Ruby need is for murder to smear the location’s reputation. There’s not much one can do when such a tragedy strikes, but all clues point to that this was a planned attack. Items are missing, and it only leads to further confusion for certain individuals.
As the author moves to show just who Father Asher was I can’t help but understand how 1) Anna is usually the last to know in the gossip chain and 2) why no one really liked the man and few if any mourn his sudden passing. I mean, you can only feel so much sympathy for someone who takes “holier than thou” to an extreme. But it also turns out that Father Asher was privy to quite a few secrets of those around him in this small town. But as we all know, there are few secrets in a small town because the gossip chain always finds out information and it’s around town before sunset.
Of course, I love the depth of mystery that the author packs into so few pages. This book is a multi-layered mystery. It all starts with the sudden death of Father Asher, but then there is the mysterious disappearance of Anna’s second Aunt Josie shortly after she graduated from high school. This story focuses heavily, of course, on finding the murderer, but there are some branch-offs to get Josie some attention as well. I love how there are so many suspects to choose from when it comes to Asher’s death. I was quick to fix on one particular character after a particular conversation in the story, but the author has no qualms saying “nope” to my original theory. LOL! I don’t mind because I love figuring out who the killer is. With this book, I actually failed to figure it out before the big reveal, but it’s worth it. My jaw was on the floor when the truth comes out and just how utterly tragic it all is all the way around.
My only complaint about this book is that it feels like there was a previous book, like a prequel or something, that is missing. It feels like the relationships are already established all the way around. I understand that most are since Anna has returned home after her divorce. I just would have liked it if the romance angle didn’t feel like it was already in play. I’d like to know more about Anna’s background and the exact connections she has to the character that she’s showing interest in and vice versa. Did they go to school together? Was she always attracted to him? I get some backstory on her divorce and why things ended the way that they did, but I want more.
I really enjoyed this book and the ending has me eager for the next book in this series. For those who don’t really like cliffhangers, maybe get books one and two together? LOL! I say that because there is a bit of a cliffhanger with this book and it left me wanting to find out what happens next. I’m rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s an enjoyable storyline and I liked the characters as well. This book is well done cozy mystery novel that will have you coming back for more.
This book is temporarily free so be sure to grab your copy before this deal disappears!
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