Book Review: All Things Murder

Book Review: All Things Murder by Jeanne Quigley

Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise I would review it.  The copy reviewed was an advance uncorrected proof, and there may be changes in the final product.

Veronica Walsh has spent thirty-two years starring in the soap opera Days and Nights.  Now that’s over and the only job offers she’s getting are old people medication commercials.   Now might be the time to take an extended vacation in her quaint hometown in the Adirondacks.  Barton is the kind of place where they still have small businesses, many catering to the tourist trade.

But there’s a threat on the horizon–a developer is about to put up a new mall, with all the big chain stores.   Until Anna Langdon, owner of the “All Things” store and landlord to many of the other businesses, comes up with her own plan to scotch the deal.  When Anna turns up dead the next morning, the developer would seem like an obvious suspect, but Anna’s heartless business tactics and fairly ruthless personal life turn up several other possibilities.

Veronica comes into the picture because she was next door at the time the murder was committed, Anna was going to meet with Veronica about a mysterious business proposition, and Veronica’s mother owns a business that rented its space from Anna.   Plus, having gotten so used to the drama of soap operas, Veronica can’t help snooping around.

It helps that she’s enormously popular with the villagers, as a hometown girl made good.  She’s also ably assisted by history professor Mark Burke and not so ably by her old co-star Alex Shelby.

As the first cozy mystery in a projected series, this book needs to introduce a sizable cast of quirky characters, as well as providing a mystery plot.  I got confused several times as some of the minor characters tended to blend together, and I had to reread to figure out who they were supposed to be.  The most notable character was Alex, since he wore his narcissism on his sleeve, and his reason for being in the area was suspicious enough to rouse my attention.

The mystery is not so much solved, as that Veronica has the solution dropped in her lap; though it does rely on her previously established good auditory memory.

I found the book only so-so, but people with an interest in the Adirondacks area may find it more captivating.  Since this is a first novel, there’s plenty of room for improvement in later installments.

A quick note:  Since this book is published by Cengage, the final product is likely to have end note content not available in the uncorrected proof, such as book club discussion topics.