This was Book 2 in the series and it was much better the first one. The story had a smoother flow, with a completeness to the characters. They seemed to show emotions and play their tiny parts in solving the murder mystery.

The story by T. C. Wescott had the 3 sleuths, Lacy, Stax, and Ruby, trying to solve the 3 murders, two with an arrow, one with a knife along with the mystery of detecting the identity of the Lacy’s secret admirer. Ruby was the brains in this trio while the others ran about like headless chooks, including the cops who allowed Ruby to steal the show with the final big reveal.

The plot was intricate, the murders seemed more complex, to the point that I felt the murderer really worked hard to set up the scenes of the murder. I was amazed at the hard work put in.

The book had a few niggles

The story was told with Lacy’s POV, yet she was not the main murder-solver. The main character just ran around as per instructions. She did nothing much in this story, which was similar to the first book. I had more hopes from her in this book.
I like mystery within a mystery if it is connected to the main story. This had an escape room mystery where the trio had to solve clues and escape the room, which went on for pages, without it having a connection to the murder. I skipped those.
In the ARC I was given, the victim’s boyfriend’s name changed from Roger to Robert and then back to Roger. I was thoroughly confused.
Ruby’s private investigator did more work than the cops, but he was not a character in the book, just a reference.
I couldn’t bring myself to care about the rest of the characters in this town.
I would read this author’s books only for the murder and the big reveal at the end, the WHO, WHY, and HOW as that captured my imagination in being different from the usual ways of murder.

It is a small book, and can be read in one sitting but packs quite a lot into it. It is the second book in the series and though it can be read as a standalone feature, I highly recommend getting acquainted with the people by reading the first book. Their quirks may not seem too normal if they are encountered suddenly in this installment. 

It has been seven months since the last time the police dealt with murder. This time the situation is a little different. There is a 'cat burglar' on the loose and he sends advance notice as a challenge. The town is up in arms and waiting for him to make his move but somebody makes theirs instead. This one more than a little deadly for all concerned. The trio of ladies have more than one mystery to solve as well as put into action a plan that Lacy has come up with. This book felt more together than the last one, with the flow of the story seeming more natural. There were a few references to 'writing cozy mysteries' that made me chuckle a little. Overall I would have rated this book higher if not for a couple of things. Once again Ruby does most of the detecting, and although it makes sense in one way, everyone else is just blundering about while she has quite a few facts hidden up her sleeve and brings it out when its need is almost past or at the final reveal. That and the fact that I stumbled upon the culprit thanks to some well placed references meant that I missed the complete thrill of the reveal. The women and their banter as well as the plot itself (this book has lesser references to running and more to systematic clue solving) has gotten better and this makes me look forward to the next book in the series.