Cover Image: Statue of Limitations

Statue of Limitations

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Member Reviews

After her divorce, Athena Spencer moves back to her hometown of Sequoia, Michigan to work in her family's garden center and to raise her son. One night at the garden center, she meets a handsome stranger who claims to be the rightful owner of a valuable statue her grandfather bought at an estate sale. When he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a local man, she decides to help him. Together they do everything they can to prove his innocence while trying to save the Little Greece business shops from being razed by the powerful Talbot family.

Statue of Limitations by Kate Collins is a solid start to a new series. It is an enjoyable, easy read, with a likable, well-developed cast of characters and an interesting murder mystery. The writing flows smoothly and the story moves at a steady pace. The main character Athena is likable and easy to relate to. She didn't make the best decisions when it came to the murder investigation but as the reader learns more about the Talbot family, it becomes very obvious why she did what she did. I love the chemistry between her and Case and look forward to seeing what the author has in store for their characters. The reveal at the end wasn't much of a surprise. We basically knew right from the start who the culprits were. It was just a matter of finding and completing all the missing pieces of the puzzle. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Statue of Limitations is the first in a new series. The story follows Athena, a recently divorced mother who has moved home to live with her big Greek family in Michigan. The family has a garden center and a Greek restaurant in Little Greece. The owner of the property the Little Greece business owners rent has decided to demolish the businesses and build a condominium. While working to stop the demolition, Athena is also investigating the recent death of the original owner of the property. Athena’s investigation into the death is to help Case, an (attractive) stranger who randomly showed up at the garden center claiming he is the rightful owner of a statue recently purchased by one of Athena’s relatives, before becoming entangled with the death.

Statue of Limitations is a cozy mystery with a large cast of characters with a lot of potential, and a busy, fast paced plot. I hope future books in the series will dive further into Athena’s family; I really enjoyed them and can imagine a lot of interesting issues arising as we get to know them more as individuals not merely “the big Greek family.” Athena is feeling overwhelmed by her family and unhappy they are indoctrinating her son into all things Greek. By the end of the book she is feeling more warmly toward them and the area.

Athena previously handled interviews for a major Chicago newspaper, yet she seemed very nervous about conducting interviews and relied heavily on Case, wanting him to ask the hard questions – hopefully in future books she’ll come into her own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #StatuteOfLimitations #cozymystery

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A strong start to what looks to be a amazing new series! Full of family, hilarious well rounded characters, and a mystery that will have you guessing, this is a book that can be read again and again! I can’t wait to see what else the author thinks up for these characters!

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Statue of Limitations is the debut of the A Goddess of Greene Street Mystery series set in the coastal town of Sequoia, Michigan and featuring blogger and garden center owner Athena Spencer. Having suffered through a nasty divorce Athena has moved back to town with her young son, Nicholas and is now sharing a home with her parents and sisters and working at the family garden center.

Athena's family don't know that she's the face behind the popular Greek blog they enjoy each morning so she often stays behind to write after the garden center closes at night. One evening thinking the loud crash outside is their neighborhood raccoon, Oscar, getting up to no good Athena is shocked to discover a man digging around the base of the statue that her Grandfather recently bought at an estate sale.

It appears the mysterious man is Pittsburgh native, Case Donnelly who claims that the statue was stolen from his family's museum and he's looking to find the certificate of authenticity and also wants Athena to come up with the receipt that the statue was bought legally. Athena knows that when wealthy town resident Grayson Talbot Sr died mysteriously in his bathtub, his son Grayson "aka Sonny" had an estate sale and her Grandfather purchased the statue from the sale.

Grayson Talbot Sr. is the same man who wanted to tear down the section of Sequoia dubbed "Little Greece" where Athena's family has lived and worked amongst their Greek friends their whole lives. Thinking that instead of the close knit community the town would be better served by a high rise condominium complex and expensive boutique shops. But at the last council meeting it seemed that Grayson had finally given in to the Greeks and was going to abandon his plan, even going so far as to draw up and sign an agreement. But, before the papers were filed the man was dead and the papers missing.

When Grayson's long time assistant Harry Pepper is found dead just a few weeks later at the Talbot home, and surveillance video shows Case running from the home he immediately becomes wanted for murder. With her gut telling her that Case is no killer, she hides him on her Grandfather's fishing boat, provides him with a disguise and teams up with him to save her community and find the person responsible for two deaths.

A fast paced plot with likable characters. A feel good family that transports you right into the center of Sequoia. I was a little apprehensive since it seemed the author was heading the way of the dreaded love triangle but it appears that may have been resolved...guess we'll have to stay tuned.

I received an advanced copy of Statue of Limitations from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

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I have loved the previous series by this author so I was very interested to read this book. I also had high expectations for it. I hate to say but it really fell short. I honestly can't believe this was written by the same person. There was a lot of talk about being Greek which added to the story. But, I found myself thinking over and over again how stupid the main character, Athena, is. I found most of the story line to be so unlikely and improbable that someone would really act that way. Athena contradicts herself many times. She protects a guy she just met who might be a murderer? who does that? As for the suspense, there is none. We know who did it right from the start, it is just a matter of unfolding everything. I really felt let down by the story that I had such hopes for.

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Statue of Limitations by Kate Collins was an entertaining beginning to a new cozy series.

I enjoyed meeting Athena and her loud and boisterous Greek American family. Each family member is a unique individual. Ms. Collins took the time throughout the story to begin to develop each of characters. By the end of the book I felt like I had begun to know each one. Case Donnelly, however, is still somewhat of a mystery that I look forward to knowing better as the series continues.

A well crafted plot with just enough twists and red herrings to keep a reader turning the pages until the reveal. Oh, and the reveal was a doozy. I will be watching for the next one in this series.

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This is the first book in Ms. Collins' new series, A Goddess of Greene St. Mysteries. Having been a huge fan of the Flower Shop Mysteries, I was excited to see something new from this author. I missed Abby Knight and the characters in that series but was looking forward to getting to know a whole new set of characters. I was also delighted to discover that the new series was set in my home state of Michigan, which adds to the fun for me. I was not disappointed with this first book Statue of Limitations. The lead character, Athena Spencer comes from a large Greek Family which is fun and colorful as well as providing fodder for the blog she writes under an assumed name. What was fun about this aspect of the story was that her mother and sisters love the blog but have no idea that much of the inspiration and stories are about them. The writing and character development are what we have come to expect from this author and she has penned an entertaining read that will have readers turning pages to see how things will end.

The mystery flows nicely throughout the story. Athena becomes embroiled in a murder investigation a bit by accident while trying to help her family and other Greek store owners save the area of their town that is populated by those of Greek ancestry. While the identity of the killer is not a complete surprise (there are only really two or three strong, viable suspects), it was enjoyable reading about Athena's journey to uncover what happens and save the Greek Merchants whose establishments are going to be torn down by town's wealthiest and most powerful family.

I think if a reader enjoyed or was a fan of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding then they will certainly enjoy this book. It had the same feel. A young woman who left town because she was overwhelmed by her family's "greekness" returns home with her young son after her divorce to her family and becomes embroiled all that her family entails. Add in a murder mystery and there you have it.

I very much enjoyed this debut in the new series and look forward to getting to know Athena and her sisters, as well as Case Donnally - Athena's new love interest in this book - a lot better.

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Statue of Limitations is another HIT by Kate Collins. I love finding brand new cozy series to start and this one really hit the spot for me. I'm so excited to see how the rest of the series plays out!

** Full review to be posted by release **

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Athena Spencer has left her ex-husband and the Big City returned to her crazy big Greek family with her son. While not pleased to be back home, she embraces her family life and works in their business.

While working late one night, Athena finds a man in their garden center looking at a statue her grandfather purchased. When the man is later sought in a murder, Athena trusts her instincts and helps the man hide out to beat their common enemy. Now they have to prove him innocent and save the Little Greece business community. An even bigger task when a local family has the police and government officials on their payroll.

This is a great start to a new series. It’s like My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets cozy mystery series. Can’t wait for the next installment.

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Fantastic start for a new series, the Greek family garden is an interesting thread throughout the story I look forward to seeing where this goes.

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Kate Collins unveils a new series set in Michigan. It has certain trademarks from her popular Flower Shoppe series: a determined heroine, hunky love interest, a noisy involved family, and plenty of action. Athena has returned to home town to regroup from a failed marriage. Her son is enveloped by her loving Greek family and she works at the family garden center. Her grandparents' livelihood and the Little Greek area is threatened by the town menace who wants to develop it. Only he conveniently dies and then Athena is harboring a murder suspect as they race to discover who really is behind all the trouble and deaths. A great new beginning for this new series.

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I liked this book. It was entertaining. The story line was different than other books I've read. I felt like the focus was too much on them being greek but that's part of the story. The bad guy is known throughout the book so that's not a surprise. #StatueofLimitations #NetGalley

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Loved this book! Very fun and entertaining. Fantastic start to a fun new series! Cannot wait to read more.

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