Book Review: Moving is Murder by Sara Rosett (Ellie Avery/Mom Zone Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: The writing; the climax

Cons: Characters don't become distinct until late in the book

The Bottom Line:

Good plot but lacking

Character development

Not strongest debut

Promising but Flawed Debut

Moving Is Murder is the first in the Mom Zone mystery series. The series stars Ellie Avery, a new mother of a four-month-old girl. Ellie's husband, Mitch, is in the Air Force. With lots of moves under their belt, their recent relocation to Washington State is going rather well, even with the new baby in tow.

Ellie and Mitch bought a house this time, hoping to get away from the squadron politics. They're even just down the street from best friends and fellow squad members Jeff and Abby. Unfortunately, their new neighborhood is made up of lots of other couples from Mitch's squad as well.

Squadron BBQ's aren't Ellie's favorite activities, but she goes to support Mitch. The potential fun goes downhill when Jeff gets into an argument with ultra-environmentalist Cass Vincent. On the way home, Ellie sees Cass pulled to the side of the road. When Ellie stops to see if she can help, she finds Cass dead.

Cass was highly allergic to bee stings, so the police are quick to rule her death by wasp sting an accident. Ellie has little reason to believe otherwise but begins to find evidence to the contrary. When suspicious accidents start happening to her, Ellie knows she must figure out the truth to stay alive. Along the way, she'll learn that her new neighbors hold some surprising secrets.

Unfortunately, this debut has several weaknesses. The story starts rather slowly. Ellie starts investigating only by accident. She stumbles upon clues for most of the first half. Once she decides she needs to find the killer, things really pick up and I was hooked. And the climax was surprising, logical, and very suspenseful.

The characters could have used a little more development. Ellie and Mitch are well developed, and I loved them. Abby is a pretty decent character as well. The rest are two dimensional at best. It was often hard to remember who they were. As the book progressed, it got easier. Personalities started to come out and the secrets Ellie found made the characters finally come to life.

The book was well written. The setting came to life, and I could feel the weather and see the locations. I also enjoyed the peak into the life of an Air Force family, something I know nothing about. Almost every chapter concludes with some moving tips that are sure to be helpful next time I move.

Though there are some serious flaws in Moving Is Murder, I enjoyed it. I definitely plan to read the next book.