I had a bit of a tough time getting through this book, but maybe I'm just not used to this modern-murder-mystery/romance genre. I thought it would be a murder-mystery, but it seemed to want to throw romance novel in. I didn't find it added anything to the story to present the protagonist as hopelessly lovestruck, only to have him win the girl and have that shift to a who-slept-with-who-tonight story. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm old fashioned, but it certainly presented the lead characters as taking sex as a pretty casual thing: they're at it one night, then she's off on a date with someone else the next night (probably just to make the lead guy jealous). I couldn't tell how serious the relationship was. Anyway, as I said, it added little to none to the story, so tough sledding.

And the mystery was a bit contrived, too, with characters introduced in the middle of paragraphs, practically, it was tough to keep them organized in my head, and the motivation for the intricate solution was not quite there.

I think with better editing, REAL editing, where an editor actually suggests "hey, this section seems awkward; how about rewriting it to make it more clear?" this book might have promise, but as it is, well, meh.

A fantastic mystery I thoroughly enjoyed. Spencer has outdone herself with this one and I can't wait to read her next one.

My Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by: Mrs. N

This book has it all. A smidgeon of romance. A murder or two or more. Drugs, lies, sinister plots, friends, family, history, interesting factoids, and so much more. Entertaining, amusing, and page turning. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. I look forward to reading more by this author.

A good mystery, engaging and entertaining.
I loved the style of writing and the well written characters.
The plot was sound, no plot hole, and interesting.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC