Crime & Punctuation by Kaitlyn Dunnett is a true cozy.
Starting with the main character, former language arts teacher who after buying childhood home realises she needs funding to refurbish her home and therefore offers her skills as a freelance editor. One day a young woman, Tiffany knocks on her door claiming she needs editing for the book she has written, Next day that young woman is found dead and Mikki gets visit from the police she her business card has been found on the body.
Rumors start flying around about Tiffany's death, her husband and her grandmother, who is Mikki's high school arch nemesis. Reading the manuscript Mikki realises that death may not be an accident as everyone claims. Since police do not share her views Mikki realises she needs to investigate herself with the help from her high school best friend, former librarian.
I really like the setting, and descriptions on house renovation. I like how the author has managed to depict a serene surrounding with nice and freindly people while the whole time there is something sinister lurking under the surface just waiting to reveal itself.
Particularly interesting is the fact that sleuth is an elderly lady with many physical limitations, and how the story slowly unrevels while we get to know Mikki's former classmates and how they turned out 40 years later.
Clever plot with intelligent dialogue makes this a real treat for all mystery lovers.

Whoever thought that being an editor could be hazardous to your life? Time consuming, occasionally frustrating, and with the inability to shut off that little voice that causes you to explain to harried civil service workers that they need a comma or apostrophe, or take note of the Oxford comma. Such is the new life of Mikki (Michelle) Lincoln, returning to her childhood home (and town) after the death of her husband left her at loose ends. Her high school reunion notice provided the perfect opportunity, and when her childhood home was for sale – she jumped at the chance, sight unseen. Of course, in the intervening half-century, the town has changed, and the house has aged – and mounting repair bills mean this retired English teacher has to find work, and find it fast, if she doesn’t want to be bankrupted by a money pit.

After biting the bullet and getting her business started – a knock at the door brings a client – a first for her (and most editors), with an historic mystery suspense, loosely based on a series of mob-style killings. The author is a young girl from the small New York town, married well, and granddaughter of Mikki’s nemesis from school. The early chapters were promising, and Mikki takes on the client – setting a meeting with her the following week. Not many days later, the local police arrive at Mikki’s, her business card in an evidence baggie, it’s obvious that the card was soaking wet – laundered perhaps? But no, the young author is dead, and the fun now begins.

I adored Mikki – at 60-something, she’s still dealing with the loss of her husband and her tendency to isolate herself because, (as she says) as an only child she was both self-sufficient and comfortable finding her own amusement. Coming back isn’t all bad, however, her best friend Darlene, has some ‘background’ information that piques Mikki’s curiosity, a proposed development of an amusement park to draw tourists, a rather curious series of main street businesses being bought out or closed, and plenty of threats from break-ins to warnings, being chased by a truck, and her ever-constant curiosity, as well as some ‘townie’ knowledge that would evade most incomers, Mikki has plenty to think on, and no real acceptance for her questions. Several twists, turns and plenty of potential suspects kept me wondering, right along with Mikki, and the final reveal at the end was perfection. Coming home was never so full of adventure!

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href= “https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9NZ /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is the first in the new series called Deadly Edits. Mikki London has moved back to her hometown of Lenape Hollow after her husband dies. She had been living in Maine and the thought of living on a large piece of property all by herself made her decide to head home. She purchases her childhood home sight unseen and then realizes a lot has changed in 50 years. To supplement her income, the former teacher decides to proofread and edit books. Tiffany Stone arrives on Mikki’s doorstep with a manuscript based in the late 1930’s about crimes that happened in the Lenape Hollow area. A couple of days later a detective appears on Mikki’s doorstep with a water stained card and asking her questions about Tiffany who has died suspiciously. The story kept me engaged and it was certainly nice to see a cozy in which the heroine is not 20 or 30 something. I will say Mikki has guts, after almost being run down by a car I think I would have slowed down but she solves the murder. Look forward to the next one.

3.5 stars

This comfortable cozy features main character Mikki Lincoln, a recently widowed former schoolteacher who decides to return to her childhood home in small town New York after living for years with her husband in Maine.

Mikki is a very likeable character. Older, but capable, active and sharp. The writing style is nicely paced and very readable. Some minor quibbles, such as why such a self-reliant woman balks at pumping her own gas, or why she decides to let someone she suspects of murder into her home.

Since she taught grammar for years, she is a stickler for correct language although she never takes herself too seriously. Her determination to begin a second career as an editor showcases her positive attitude. The fact that the use of an Oxford comma helps her solve the crime is amusing.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.

Mikki Lincoln is recently widowed and has recently moved back into her childhood home after many years away. She is starting up an editing business and renovating the house as well as working on making friends and becoming part of the community, so you might think she would be too busy to get into trouble.
Not at all. Mikki can't quite believe that a new client of hers has died an accidental death, and she can't keep herself from following up on clues she notices, no matter how many people ask her to stay out of their business... or threaten her.
Will she find the evidence the police need (even if they don't think so) before she ends up as the next victim?
I found it refreshing to see an elderly amateur detective who is not made comically eccentric and wacky. Mikki is an intelligent and mostly sensible woman. Her house and town are believable yet quaint. The writing is solid and there are surprises all along the way.
I look forward to reading more of Mikki's adventures.

This book had me at the cover. The story is even better. As an aging 50 something, I especially loved the characters. I have a fun new series to follow and can't wait to read the next book. Thank you Netgalle for gifting me with this great book. The opinion is only mine.

After Mikki was widowed she moved back to her home town and bought her old family home to live in .
I thought the story started a bit slow and getting to know all the characters, but it picked up in a few chapters.
It was an interesting read plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing .

I really enjoyed this first book in the Deadly Edits series. The plot was solid, the main characters, especially Mikki, we're well-drawn, and the setting added a great atmosphere to the story. I did find it a tad slow in the very beginning, but overall I found this to be a great debut to a new series. I would recommend this to cozy mystery fans, and I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the series.

I have added another author to my book list and must-read pile with Kaitlyn Dunnett and The Deadly Edits Mystery. Crime & Punctuation is an enjoyable and page-turning cozy mystery. I also learned a few grammar tricks too. The interactions between characters were believable, and the characters were complex and interesting.

I enjoyed the main character of this book and her easy but determined spirit and attitude. The author writes vivid scenes and settings, which transports the reader into the story. I enjoyed each character and how they played into the plotline and murder, which had me guessing until the killer was revealed. The story was fast-paced, plausible, and held my attention throughout the book.

Spoiler: The Oxford comma has a history of controversy and it plays out in this novel, though subtlety.

I will be reading more of Kaitlyn Dunnett's books.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.

Crime & Punctuation, by Kaitlynn Dunnett, is a great first in a new series.

I love the cover of this book and the pages in between are even better.
The protagonist is a proof reader and editor, a job she can do to supplement her income. Aided by her cat Cal, short for Calpurnia, Mikki is renovating her childhood hood home in upstate New York.

Life is going well for Mikki until that fateful morning when a young writer knocks on her door, leaving her with more than a manuscript when she leaves.

Mikki is drawn into a murder investigation and what she discovers will leave you speechless.

I am a huge fan of Ms. Dunnett so seeing this intriguing cozy mystery on NetGalley caught my attention. I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

This is a charming new mystery featuring a delightful and intrepid heroine in 68 year old Mickie Lincoln. I especially enjoyed seeing someone of Mickey's age as a lead character and think that it will appeal to many women of a similar age who are greatly underrepresented in the mystery genre. After the death of her husband Mickie sold her home in Maine and was able to buy the house she grew up in in Sullivan County New York. Because the house needed major renovations and her pension did not stretch that far Mickie started a business as a free lance editor. One of her first local clients, Tiffany Scott, brings her a manuscript for a historical mystery but Tiffany is later found dead with Mickie's business card on her body. Tiffany's husband is a developer who wants to build a theme park in the area but is opposed by many of the residents, including Tiffany's grandmother, Ronnie, who was Mickie's nemesis in high school.The police come and confiscate Tiffany's manuscript but several people question Mickie about what else Tiffany may have given her. Mickie later finds a thumb drive in the envelope Tiffany left her, which leads to many questions and motives. I enjoyed this slice of small town life, with a puzzling mystery, and a great set of characters. It turns out, for Mickie anyway, that you can go home again.

Crime & Punctuation is the debut novel in Kaitlyn Dunnett’s Deadly Edits series. Ms. Dunnett has written an entertaining mystery with a great cast of characters. The book starts out slow paced, but picks up about a third of the way through. The characters are well developed and there are some and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing about the villain’s identity.

Sixty-eight-year-old Michelle ‘Mikki’ Lincoln, a retired English teacher and recently widowed, decides it’s time to make a change in her life, so she buys her one-hundred-and-ten-year old family home in Lenape Hollow, New York, which she hasn’t seen since she was seventeen. She packs up her possessions, her seven-year-old Calico named Cal (short for Calpurnia), and moves from Maine to the Catskills only to find the house in desperate need of repair. She realizes the repairs and renovations will quickly eat through her retirement income and decides to be a freelance editor. Tiffany Scott, the wife of Gregory Onslow and the granddaughter of Ronnie North, Mikki’s high school nemesis, shows up at her door unannounced with a manuscript in hand. The first few pages are better than Mikki thought they would be and agrees to edit Tiffany’s book. Shortly after taking Tiffany on as a client, Detective Hazlett shows up on Mikki’s doorstep, wanting to know why Tiffany had Mikki’s business card. After explaining their relationship, Mikki learns that Tiffany has passed away. The cause of death is drowning and the police say it was either a suicide or accidental, but Mikki refuses to believe that and begins her own investigation with the help of her good friend, Darlene Uberman. She learns Tiffany’s death was similar to one portrayed in her book, that her husband was trying to revitalize the area by opening Wonderful World, a Disney-like theme park, which Tiffany and Ronnie opposed, and in a new will, she left her shares in her husband’s company to her grandmother. Ronnie calls Mikki and Gregory’s menacing assistant visits her, both wanting to know if Tiffany left anything other than the manuscript with her and demanding its return. Mikki’s house is broken into and searched and she’s being followed and harassed.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Recent widow Mikki Lincoln buys her childhood home, sight unseen for more than 40 years, and moves from Maine to the Catskills only to find the house in great need of repair. Her feline companion is a seven-year-old Calico named Cal, short for Calpurnia.

Confronted with the problem of how to pay for the needed repairs, starting with a new roof, Mikki starts a new business – freelance editor – to boost her very fixed retirement income.

Tiffany Stone, wife of Gregory Onslow, the town’s richest individual and granddaughter of Mikki’s high school nemesis, Ronnie North, brings her newly penned novel for Mikki to evaluate. Within a few days Detective Hazlett calls on Mikki to find out how the deceased Tiffany Stone came to have Mikki’s business card on her when she died. Mikki turns the manuscript over the police wondering if it contained any clues to Tiffany’s death.

There is tension in the community as folks have taken sides on the issue of Onslow’s attempt to develop Wonderful World – a Disney-like park - and opposed by his wife Tiffany and her grandmother. Mikki receives a terse call from Ronnie wanting to know if Tiffany left anything with Mikki that she should have, then a visit from Onslow’s somewhat menacing assistant wanting to know the same thing and finally Mikki’s house is broken into and searched.

Plenty of red herrings keep the reader off balance. There are several asides with old friends from high school. Mikki’s occupation as a freelance editor is unusual and makes it interesting in a different way. The mystery is a good one, but the pace is a little cautious. While the author built the case for why Tiffany is killed, the identity is a little unexpected.

Kaitlyn Dunnett is off to a good start with her new Deadly Edits Mystery series.

I received a free copy of Crime & Punctuation by Kaitlyn Dunnett in exchange for an honest review. Widow and independent editor Mikki Lincoln has returned to her hometown and has moved back into her childhood home. When the police show up to question Mikki about the suspicious death of a new client, Mikki is concerned. When Mikki is menaced and harassed about her interactions with the deceased, Mikki becomes alarmed. When law enforcement seems to be going astray and the threats against Mikki escalate, she becomes motivated to solve the crime.

This was an interesting and enjoyable read. I liked the characters and thought the story advanced quickly and smoothly. I would definitely buy another book about Mikki Lincoln.

#Crime&punctuation #NetGalley

For book about an editor this needed to be trimmed of some characters. There were too many times that a character is introduced and the main character explained her remembering them from back in high school. I hope that they're not being introduced and brought back next book as if I'm going to remember them all.

The murder mystery itself was good and engaging. Nice twist in the end.

Quick, fun read. I really enjoyed this book. I like the refreshing change of vocation of the main character and her age. The fact that she needs glasses and hearing aids makes her seem more relatable. Good mystery. Very enjoyable!

This book was very slow going for me.
I did enjoy the characters but found the pace of the story dragged out.

Crime and Punctuation by Kaitlyn Dunnet is a new cozy series set in the Catskills and featuring a sweet and older protagonist than what is usually found in cozy mysteries today. I liked Mikki and applauded her move to start life anew after her husband died by returning to her childhood home.

The story began slowly setting up the small town and the characters and finally picked up the pace about 30% into the book. Ms. Dunnet's descriptive writing made Lenape Hollow come to life as the book opened. The police rule the victim's death as accidental but Mikki refuses to believe that and begins her own investigation. There were some twists, very few suspects and only Mikki's belief that the death was actually a murder. An interesting afternoon read that can keep a reader entertained.

Interesting meld of fiction and actual local crime. I really liked following Mikki's progress throughout, She's a fun enjoyable character. Its so nice when author's branch out.