Synopsis:
When 28-year-old Agnes Blythe, the contented bifocals-wearing half of an academic power couple, is jilted by her professor boyfriend for the town Pilates instructor, her future is suddenly less than certain. So when her glamorous, eccentric Great Aunt Effie arrives in town and offers a job helping to salvage the condemned Stagecoach Inn, what does Agnes have to lose? But work at the inn has barely begun when the unlikely duo find the body of manipulative Kathleen Todd, with whom Agnes and Effie both have recently had words. Words strong enough to land them at the top of the suspect list.
The pair have clearly been framed, but no one else seems interested in finding the real murderer and Agnes and Effie’s sleuthing expertise is not exactly slick. Nevertheless, they’re soon investigating a suspect list with laundry dirtier than a middle school soccer team’s and navigating threats, car chases, shotgun blasts, and awkward strolls down memory lane.
In Bad Housekeeping, the first novel in the Agnes & Effie cozy mystery series by Maia Chance, danger mounts, deadlines loom, ancient knob-and-tube wiring is explored, and the ladies learn a thing or two about the awful, wonderful mistake that is going back home. (Goodreads)
Review:
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book I felt like I was right there, watching all of the action taking place. I enjoyed the small town feel and all the gossiping that goes along with that. The mystery was carried on well throughout the book and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through, that it was not an easy mystery to solve.
I felt that the characters could have been developed a little bit more. I did not really feel like I connected that well with them, and I do not know why. I got really tired of reading about Agnes being overweight, it was mentioned numerous times. That is only my opinion and other readers may not agree with me. I did find some of the situations and dialogue quite funny and there a few times that I laughed out loud.
There were many things that I did enjoy about the book and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery. I will read the next book when it is released.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
mjbreviewers 