Synopsis:
Single mom and rookie P.I. Nicki Valentine rarely gets time off, so attending a wedding with her superhot colleague Dean sounds dreamy. But things turn nightmarish when the groom — a soon-to-be transplant donor — disappears, and Nicki and Dean commit to a partnership they never planned.
Together, they examine the groom’s unfulfilled promises, including one to his mom, a psychic medium with an unusual health need. As family secrets emerge, Nicki must face questions about her late husband, whose long-ago betrayal still threatens to cloud her judgment.
With support from her pole-dancing best friend, her always-on-call family, and the loves of her life (her two kids — and possibly Dean), Nicki must uncover the groom’s demons while conquering her own. (Goodreads)
Review:
Nicki Valentine is a new private investigator who is still getting her feet wet with her career. She really likes her job: she loves having flexible hours (so she can manage to spend time with her children), she met her sorta boyfriend, Dean, when she was going to investigating school and she feels like she makes a difference when she catches the bad guy. But when she attends a wedding with Dean, she is happy to know she will get a break from her job for a little while. Little does she know that instead of seeing a beautiful wedding, she will be hired for the toughest case of her career.
The groom never shows up on his wedding day, and no one can find him. His fiance, family and friends all say that he would not have disappeared voluntarily. Besides being madly in love with his fiance, he is scheduled to be a “donor” for a life saving procedure for his mom. When the groom’s father wants to hire Nicki and Dean to find his son, and offers a huge amount of money to ensure they will agree to take it, they do. With only a few clues and little to go on, they have their work cut out for them.
The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick, easy and fun read. The author is able to expertly combine mystery, suspense, humor, light paranormal and family drama to create a book that is hard to put down. I found myself laughing every few pages reading about Nicki’s thoughts and actions. Two of my favorite scenes are when Nicki is making popcorn in her hotel room and her pole dancing lesson.
The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional. Nicki is the perfect protagonist. She is witty, funny, hardworking, dedicated and relentless. She is also an overprotective mother, a great friend and big hearted. She has self doubts about her appearance, her mothering skills and her investigating skills. She has anger towards her late husband who cheated on her before his death. She has both positive and negative traits, which made her seem even more human to me. I like the fact that she is a mother and she is always trying to do the best she can for her children. This is a nice twist on the normal cozy mystery where the heroine is younger and single. This brought an added layer to the story. The secondary characters are all great and the interaction between them all is so realistic. I would love to be able to call them all my friends.
I found the plot unique and the mystery was carried on throughout the entire book. There are enough twists and turns and suspects to keep the reader guessing. I thought I had it figured out a few times but I was wrong.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery with lots of humor and great characters. I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next and what crazy thing Nicki would think or say. But I also wanted to stop reading because I did not want this fantastic book to end. I am sad that the book ended because now I have to wait until the next book is written and released. I hope the author is a fast writer.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I can honestly say that I loved this book and if I could I would give it more than five stars. I would like to thank NetGalley and Henery Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
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