Today I am featuring my review of 30 Second Death, a little bit about the author and a giveaway for her latest book 30 Second Death. Good luck with the giveaway and Happy Reading.
30 Second Death
A Tobi Tobias Mystery, Book #2
Laura Bradford
5+ Stars
Synopsis:
To help an old friend, Tobi Tobias gets a third-rate thespian a part in a commercial, and learns that in the advertising business, bad acting can lead to murder . . .
When Tobi Tobias opened her own advertising agency, Carter McDade was there for her every step of the way. A brilliant hairdresser, Carter has just landed his dream project: doing hair and makeup for a theatrical production of Rapunzel. But the dream turns into a nightmare when he runs into Fiona Renoir, a cruel, talentless starlet who won’t let Carter touch a hair on her head.
To get Fiona out of Carter’s hair, Tobi hires the difficult actress for a bit part in her latest commercial. But true to character, Fiona is a terror on set, and Tobi is starting to think she’s made the biggest mistake of her life. But things get even worse when Fiona drops dead in the hairdresser’s chair, and the only suspect is the man left holding the tainted hair dye, Carter McDade. And unless Tobi can prove his innocence, he’ll never do hair in this town again. (Goodreads)
Review:
The characters are well rounded, well developed and three dimensional. Tobi is smart, loyal, clever and very funny. She would do anything for her family and friends. She is a snackaholic, which I can relate to. Mary Fran and Sam, her friend and her friend’s son are such great people and friends to Tobi. They love animals and I enjoyed reading about the pet store and all of the animals within. I loved reading about her interactions with her friends and listening to her conversations with them. And of course you have to love Grandpa Stu and all of his shenanigans.
The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. 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 felt like I was inside the pet shop, To Know Them Is To Love Them (great name for a pet store), hanging out with the animals. Rudder Malone, one cantankerous bird, had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.
The mystery was carried on well throughout the book. There were enough suspects to consider and and clues to sift through that it was difficult to figure out who-dunnit. I had an inkling of who the killer was but I did not know for sure until it was revealed at the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. With wonderful characters (I so enjoy Tobi and her friends), a great mystery and humor galore, I think this is just about the perfect cozy. When I was not reading it, I wanted to be reading it, to spend time in the world that this author has created. If I could, I would give this book more than 5 Stars.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
About The Author:
Aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey.
While spending a rainy afternoon at a friend’s house nearly forty years ago, Laura Bradford fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons, and a freshly sharpened number two pencil.
Those early attempts at the craft had her writing and illustrating stories for young children. Wise beyond her years, Laura saved her first writing attempt in a hand decorated shoe box (complete with sparkly stickers) and moved on to her next idea. Her second book—O’Casey’s Wish—was so utterly brilliant, she sent it off to a well-known New York publishing house at the tender age of ten, confident she was on the verge of becoming the next Don Freeman (Corduroy) or Shel Silverstein (Giving Tree).
Months later, she received her first form letter rejection.
While she wasn’t of the mindset to save that first crushing blow for posterity, Laura did save the original copy of this particular literary masterpiece in the event the letter was a mistake.
Desperate to prove her flexibility as a writer, Laura soon found herself dabbling in jokes (for her Girl Scout troop’s newsletter), stories of angst (a somewhat autobiographical look at her teenage years), movie reviews (for the Xavier University Newswire), and countless news and feature articles (for newspapers in CT, SC, TN, and MO).
It wasn’t until Laura was home raising children of her own though, that she was finally able to dust off that rainy day dream and bring it back to its original form—writing fiction. Today, she is a bestselling mystery author with Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin Publishing), and an award winning romance author with Harlequin American. She lives in New York with her family.
Oh, and if you meet Laura at a book event in the future, ask her about O’Casey’s Wish. It tends to travel with her everywhere she goes. (Goodreads)
mjbreviewers 
Reblogged this on Hobby Reads.
Thanks for re-blogging. I really appreciate it.
I didn’t request this book.
You missed out on a good one.
Hi Mary! Thanks for the great review!
You’re welcome. Thanks for writing such great books.