Title: A New Place, Another Murder
Author: Christa Nardi
Series: Sheridan Hendley Mysteries #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: July 18, 2018
Pages: 179
Book Source: Trade Paperback
“Starting over in a new town has its challenges, even murder.
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A murder isn’t the best way for Sheridan Hendley to start her new life as wife and step-mom. With her step-daughter and friend are framed for theft and murder, Sheridan is determined to prove the teens’ innocence.
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In the process, she learns about the powerful Buchanan family and the history of the local community. Only Sheridan asks too many questions and is in danger. Will Sheridan uncover the truth before the person calling the shots takes her and Maddie out of the picture?” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
A New Place, Another Murder by Christa Nardi is categorized as a Cozy Mystery, but it didn’t quite have that feel to me. It was a bit darker than the typical cozy, with a middle schooler being accused of murder. And how the drug storyline ended up being played out was a bit unusual for a cozy. While I thought it was good that Nardi was writing about it, since it needs to be talked about, it just didn’t fit into a cozy for me.
Then there’s the characters… this is a spin off of the Cold Creek Mysteries, and I’m not sure why it needs to be a spin-off just because the main character moves to a new town. Since it’s technically book one in a series, this is where you would be discovering the characters for the first time and getting to know them. But since there were five books before this one in the Cold Creek Mysteries, the reader has already had time to get to know them, and Nardi doesn’t spend much/any time informing the new read about them. This was disappointing for me because one of the reasons I go back to read more in a cozy series is because the characters have become like friends… not so in this case.
It was a well written book with some topics that need to be covered, but it just didn’t enamor me like other series have done. But I don’t want to persuade you from trying it yourself… just realize it’s not a typical cozy and that you may want to read the Cold Creek Mysteries first, starting with Murder at Cold Creek College.
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