Veteran mystery author Valerie Wilson Wesley starts her new series with a puzzling murder – who killed the head of a local real estate firm. Unfortunately, negative vibes permeate the real estate firm’s staff and office resulting in a somewhat hostile environment that affects reader interest. There is no shortage of suspects and the protagonist, Odessa Jones, feels helpless about her situation.

While this book does not read like a typical cozy, the mystery is well-plotted. The sense of community is just not as clearly defined and established.

This book is a great start to a new cozy mystery series. Something I enjoyed and appreciated in the story is the cast of characters (it kept me guessing) and how the author was able to make them come to life. More specifically, the back stories behind what characters have gone through in their personal lives and how some of those stories are interconnected made connecting with them (whether I liked them or not) helped in understanding the reasoning behind their actions. It wasn't just a "throw in as many characters as you can to confuse the reader" kind of story. The setting and character development really made this story a great one (and kept me guessing until the end).

Dessa was my favorite character, and it was easy to connect with the character due to her background story and her being an empath (Aunt Phoenix was a close second!)

I loved this book so much and am excited to see what comes next for Dessa!

In this well-written and a tightly woven plot that held up from the first page to the last page, the author did a great job in staging this mystery that had an eclectic cast of characters that included Dessa, her aunts and her co-workers who all who had pivotal roles in this enticingly whodunit. What secrets held them to the Risko Realty job? It’s for you to discover when you pick up a copy of this book. Why was the victim murdered? So many clues and back history helped paved the road to the killer’s identity. The narrative was visually descriptive with dialogue that told the story from each character’s point of view and it was up to Dessa to figure out who, with her “insight”, was involved in the murder. I like the way the author presented this drama that kept me immersed in all that was happening that also put me in the middle of it all, rooting for Dessa to unravel this tantalizing mystery.

Lots of things going on in this first book in a series. The mystery was interesting and I liked the main character and her unusual aunt. I look forward to seeing others in the series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Odessa Jones' extraordinary psychic gift plunges her already-troubled present into chaos--and puts her future in someone's deadly sights..."

A quick read. I don't read much in the cozy genre, and now I remember why. Overall, an okay mystery but the general conversation and interaction between characters were - blech.

2☆

I was super excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. While the concept was really interesting, I just had a problem connecting to the characters. One of the things I look for in a cozy series is a delightful supporting cast. I found most of the supporting characters at the reality company incredibly unlikable. Dessa herself was totally fine, but too much time was spent with frustratingly unpleasant characters. I also thought the pacing was off - the mystery didn't unfold smoothly and the main reveal was left (in my opinion) too late.

Odessa Jones is coping with grief, emotionally complex relationships, financial uncertainty, and a psychic gift that shows her "glimmers" -- foggy messages that come to her through scents and colors.

A death in her workplace piles on even more stress and strife.

This is a moody novel including complex characters in complicated situations. The writing is evocative and Odessa's community is very different from the typical cozy or paranormal mystery. I look forward to more in this series.

Dessa Jones works for a particularly obnoxious NJ realtor who is always threatening to fire people who don't bring in enough business. Apparently he pushed someone too far, because he winds up dead. Could one of the staff finally have had enough of Charlie's bullying? What about his young wife, who is sporting all of those bruises? Dessa sees "glimmers," similar to auras, around people. They often tell her more than she wants to know, since she is trying to focus on reviving her baking business to earn some extra money. I really enjoyed reading about these characters, and the mystery kept me guessing. As an added bonus, the recipe for Dessa's 7-Up Pound Cake is included. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A fun murder/mystery that keeps you guessing until the end!
Odessa Jones works in a real estate office where people start dropping like flies. So Odessa can't help but start to look around and finds all the people in her real estate office are connected somehow in a bad way. I won't give away too much but it's a great story and fun.
I loved Odessa's character and the different characters in the book. They are described well and you can picture each of them.
This is a short story and an easy read it's a good way to pass an afternoon!

This first in a new series was everything a mystery should be. Strong characters, a villain that ends up murdered, and the main character figuring out the whodunit. This story did have a twist from the typical mysteries. A unique main character, a different type of setting, and a well-executed plot that keeps you guessing.

An easy mystery filled with a bit of everything, but a great beginning to a series with it's strong characters. I am excited to see where this series heads next.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A GLIMMER OF DEATH by Valerie Wilson Wesley in exchange for an honest review. Odessa Jones has familial psychic abilities; she can see glimmers in people’s characters and smell omens. However, Dessa’s gifts failed to warn her of her husband’s early death from a brain aneurism. Dessa’s grief kept her away from her favorite activity, cooking. This meant her and her husband’s catering business went bust, and Dessa had to find another job. Months later, Dessa finds herself barely hanging on to a real estate position in an office teeming with bitter and unfriendly faces. One day, Dessa walks into the office and smells a death omen, which smells like nutmeg. That evening, Dessa’s boss Charlie Risko is shot dead in the office. When one of Dessa’s few office friends is arrested for the crime, Dessa decides to clear his name. Dessa’s investigation turns up the shady dealings of her officemates; however, it seems like each of her coworkers had motive for the murder. As more of her coworkers die under mysterious circumstances, Dessa must identify Charlie’s killer before the murderer is the last one standing.

I liked this book. I thought it was a terrific beginning to a new series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, food, real estate, psychic abilities, assertive relatives, and cats.

#AGlimmerofDeath #NetGalley

This book is ok. I found it to be depressing. The characters aren't nice and all have issues. It's closer to reality than I want in a book. #AGlimmerofDeath #NetGalley

I thoroughly enjoyed this new mystery. The mystery itself wasn't too difficult to figure out as we get a fair number of clues along the way, but what makes this shine is our heroine, Odessa (Dessa to her friends) Jones.

Dessa has a gift of sorts - she's able to see 'glimmers' on some people that indicate moods or health issues. She also smells certain scents: nutmeg means death is coming. So the story warms up quickly as she smells nutmeg all around the real estate office where she's working and sure enough, her horrid abusive boss gets murdered soon after. Suspects are plentiful and there's great interaction between Dessa & her aunts (such a great characters) as well as the ex-cop who now owns the neighborhood diner.

As mentioned, the who-dun-it wasn't much of a surprise, but Dessa & her family, friends & coworkers are a great starting point for a promising mystery series.

I had read this author when she wrote a previous series but it has been awhile. I was glad to see that she had a new series to try. I found this one interesting. It was a bit more cerebral with less action than some. I did find it interesting to read it from the point of view of the main character being African American as most cozy mysteries the MC is not. There were insights about daily life that are different from mine which is enlightening. The mystery itself wasn't entirely a surprise but came to a decent conclusion.

family-dynamics, friendship, widow, real-estate, baker, other-gifted, cozy-mystery, murder, discrimination, situational-humor, small-business, small-town

While trying to dig herself out of grieving for her husband who died a sudden unexpected death, Dessa is working as a real estate agent with some challenging coworkers. Dessa senses some aspects of them but isn't sure of that part of her. Then the boss gets murdered in the office and the Afghanistan vet is arrested because his prints were on the murder weapon. But he has no one else to turn to except Dessa who comes to believe in him but finds some disturbing photos in his apartment when she goes there to pick up his parakeet (note that she owns a cat!). Seems as if everyone trusts her but she decides that the way to get through the confusion is to do a limited resume of the business she had shared with her husband (baking) in order to pick the brain of the friendly restaurant owner who is an ex-cop. Lots of suspects, plot twists, red herrings, and another murder or two in this start of an excellent series!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is one of the best new books I’ve read in a while. I love the idea of the main character, Odessa Jones, being an empath. Seeing the shimmers, or glitters, is part of her gift, although she doesn’t quite understand how it works.
After the death of her husband, Dessa is just trying to keep a roof over her head, so finding a job at a local real estate agency that s where she spends her days.

I think Dessa is a fresh, new character who’s going to shine the light on the cozy mystery genre.
I’m very excited to see what’s in store for Odessa Jones!

an empath with a gift. She is doing her best to keep herself afloat while dealing with her grief. Making money in real estate was never a calling, but it would help pay the bills, or so she thought. When her boss is murdered in the office one night, Odessa finds herself questioning whether she really knows her coworkers at all. She has a gift that lets her see glimmers of people and while she hasn’t fully embraced her gift, she is starting to learn to trust it. To trust herself.

While Dessa isn’t actively sleuthing, she is trying to be a friend to her coworkers, while also trying to stay safe from the killer when another coworker appears to have committed suicide and another is murdered as well. Dessa is just trying to understand the system and be a friend when and where needed, while hoping the police will find the murderer and not arrest her innocent friend.

I’d say this is the coziest cozy mystery I have ever read, in that the protagonist is not actively sleuthing, but trying to understand how the legal and judicial systems work. Bravo to the author for sharing the struggles that African Americans deal with on a daily basis. Until you can understand what it is like to be pulled over by the police merely for DWB (driving while black) and other struggles that African Americans face, you will never understand why there is a time and a place to say Black Lives Matter rather than All Lives Matter. I wish more authors would take on the reality that our fellow citizens face on a daily basis. Whether Black, Asian, Disabled, etc. I look forward to seeing Dessa and Aunt She again soon.

Odessa Jones has faced tragedy and heartbreak - her beloved husband passes away, their catering business was lost and now she's about to lose her home. In order to get back on her feet, she takes a position as an associate with Risko Realty. Unfortunately, the job turns out to be more sleuthing than selling and Odessa has to use her "gifts" to keep herself safe!

Valerie Wilson Wesley has created a fascinating new sleuth - Odessa (Dessa) Jones. Dessa is complex, kind, smart and still grieving the loss of her husband Darryl. She has an interesting method of listening to and evaluating people and situations (I won't say more than that!) and the character has such depth and is so well-written, that the reader feels as if they are right there with her discovering clues. The writing style is direct, relatable and left me not wanting to read that last page and finish the book!

The supporting characters, Dessa's co-workers and her wonderful Aunts Phoenix and Celestine are strong enough to have their own books. Of course, Juniper her spoiled feline is adorable and demanding and the pound cake recipe was amazing!

I can't wait for the next Odessa Jones Mystery!

. I received an ARC from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.