Tuesday, April 3, 2012

If Errands Could Kill by Jim Bronyaur


Up at sunrise to enjoy the quiet of a sleeping household, Eve Bailey gets her coffee, prepares breakfast for her three children, and has a spare tie ready knowing that her husband, Ben, will definitely spill something on the one he is wearing. Their oldest daughter, Delaney, is one game away from moving onto the soccer championships, their son, Cody, skipped school yesterday, and innocent 7 year old Penny is trying to communicate with her goldfish. Eve’s days are that of a typical stay at home mom.

Her typical day changes drastically after she drives Cody to school as part of his punishment for skipping school. Cody’s creepy science teacher, Mr. Jackson, approaches Eve to let her know that her check for Cody’s field trip had bounced. Knowing it had to be an error, Eve heads to the bank to figure it out. While in line, she chats with her mother in law who works at the bank. Then she notices Janet, another bank employee and self-made town outcast, acting very strange at the back counter.


Eve’s concern grows when she is leaving the bank and sees Janet open the gas tank door and then drives away. Against her better judgment, Eve follows Janet. What happens next is something unheard of in quiet Marysville, Pennsylvania.
  Janet is murdered in front of Eve’s eyes, and the police find drugs in her car.

Murder and drugs? It doesn’t make sense. Eve is now a witness and determined to disprove the “drug deal gone wrong” theory.  Can she convince the police that she knows who the killer is, save her family, and make it to Delaney’s big soccer game in time?


 


This has got to be one of the best cozy mysteries I have read in awhile.  Eve is a busy momma with three kids and a husband.  I know from experience that if you have a child in sports, you are active.  Not to mention that one is on the verge of being a teenager and testing his boundaries.  A husband that would be lost without you and a house to run, I can definitely sympathize with Eve, but she does it with joy and an innate sense of humor.

She follows Janet from the bank, very unlike Eve to follow someone she hardly knows, but it bothers her that Janet was acting weird at the bank, not to mention leaving the gas tank door open.  Thankfully, Eve is a quick thinker, and when she sees another car approach Janet's, she reverses into cornfield to hide.  Unfortunate for Eve, she sees Janet get gunned down.  

The police believe it is a drug deal gone back, but Eve doesn't buy it. In fact, she takes it upon herself to do her own investigation.  But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger that surrounds Eve's life.

With clever writing, strong key plot points and twists, If Errands Could Kill is a superb start to a new series.  The characters are well-rounded and I look forward to getting to know them a bit better in the next installment.  If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you won't want to miss this one!

Wendy

*I received a complimentary copy of If Errands Could Kill in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are expressly my own.

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The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.

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