"A Field Guide to Murder" is an amateur detective mystery novel. It's a clue-based puzzle mystery. Emma and Harry were both very observant (noticing even small details) and were logical in how they considered the things they heard and observed. Harry used his life experience in observing people and discovering what motivated them along with his skill in leading people in casual conversation to provide the information he desired. It seemed like everyone in the community had secrets so there were many potential clues to expose and sort through. I was certain of whodunit several chapters before Harry figured it out, but I didn't identified whodunit until near the end of the book.

The characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. There was actual character development, too. Emma was engaged to a handsome, successful man who was nice but who had different goals in life. Emma wanted to use her skills to help people, but he wanted to primarily make money. Harry tried to help her find the confidence to chose the life she really wanted while she tried to get him engaged with life again rather than feeling like a has-been. They were a good team.

There were only a few uses of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable puzzle mystery.

What a fun book!

Harry Lancaster, a widower recovering from a fractured hip, and his caregiver Emma stumble into a murder case. This book follows the two as they subtly question members of Harry's community, trying to uncover the truth behind what happened to Harry's neighbor, Sue.

I love reading from the perspective of older main characters, and this book reminded me of the joy I get from watching and reading about Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Harry and Emma make a wonderful team, and their interactions throughout the story are wholesome and heartwarming as their friendship gradually deepens.

I found the pacing at the beginning to be a bit slow, and it tended to remain that way at times throughout the book. It was also a bit difficult to keep track of all the characters as they were introduced, but that mostly resolved itself about halfway through.

Overall, I enjoyed this book!

Thank you to Michelle L. Cullen, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

#AFieldGuidetoMurder #NetGalley is a unique cozy mystery featuring two main characters, Harry and Emma, and not your typical pair of sleuths.
Harry is recovering from hip surgery and his cranky demeanor seems off putting in the beginning.
Harry spends his days spying on his neighbors, worrying about falling again, as well as trying not to feel like a burden. Once a strong man with an exciting career, Harry hates depending on others, even though his caretaker seems content helping him.
Emma, now responsible for Harry, was a nurse previously, but she's decided that career is no longer what she wants.
Taking care of Harry isn't bad, he's stubborn, but she cares about him and wants him to be independent again.
Harry's neighbors are very odd, and when one of them calls him, gasping for breath and asking for help, he and Emma embark on a wild investigation of possible murder.

There were parts that seemed to drag on, but overall I liked the book, and Harry and Emma made quite the team.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Several years after the death of his wife, Harry is still mourning her in the condo they bought together in an upscale retirement community. Due to a recent fall, Harry has very limited mobility, so he spends most of his time looking out the window, observing the comings and goings of his neighbors. He has a young home health nurse, Emma, who has problems of her own. Emma has recently left her job as a trauma nurse due to all the death and suffering she witnessed. She's enjoying helping Harry, but her personal life is a mess. She's recently become engaged to Blake, who is a doctor, but she feels the relationship is moving too fast. Then she learns that, without informing her, Blake is looking to move to St. Louis and take up a residency. He's going on ahead to scout out apartments. Emma doesn't want to move, but with her mother and Blake's mother busily getting the wedding details in order, she feels powerless to stop the wedding planning train. Then one of Harry's neighbors is discovered dead in her kitchen. The police are quick to dismiss the death as accidental, but as Harry and Emma start looking into the dead woman's past, they begin to suspect that there was more than one person in the neighborhood who had reason to want her dead.

I liked the relationship between Harry and Emma, but the book moved at a glacial pace. Harry was forever sat in his chair spying on the neighbors and worrying about falling again, while Emma was fighting her desire for sweets as well as trying to figure out how to break up with Blake. The various neighbors (and suspects) were a bit hard to tell apart, and the investigations didn't really seem to lead much of anywhere.