Book Review: Staying Home is a Killer by Sara Rosett (Mom Track/Ellie Avery #2)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Interesting setting and plot

Cons: Poor characters and writing

The Bottom Line:

Story can't save book

Writing makes it hard to like

Characters okay

This Killer is Just Middle of the Road

Staying Home Is A Killer is the second entry in Sara Rosett's Mom Track Mysteries. The series stars Ellie Avery, the wife of an air force pilot. In the first in the series, Ellie, husband Mitch, and their infant daughter Livvy relocated to Greenly Air Force Base in eastern Washington. It's now been a year since they moved, but murder is about to find them again.

Since their move, Ellie has made several new friends. One of them is Penny Follette. While Penny is a wonderful person and Livvy's favorite babysitter, she is rarely happy. So when Ellie stops by the squadron and finds Penny smiling, she figures something is up.

A few hours later, however, Penny is dead. It looks like a suicide, but Ellie doesn't buy that for a minute. Fortunately, it doesn't take the police long to agree that Penny's death was murder. Unfortunately, they begin to zero in on Ellie as a suspect. With Mitch about to be deployed for a month, Ellie wants to spend time with him. But she begins to investigate to clear her name. Can she stay out of jail?

This book is a decided mixed bag. I liked the look into the life of a military family. It's a subject I know nothing about, but I found it fascinating. And the plot itself is very good. The mystery took several unexpected turns and hit a few road blocks before the ending. The story was always advancing, which I appreciate.

However, the characters presented a bit of a problem. Outside of the Avery family and their best friends, the other characters began to blend together. I had a hard time keeping all the suspects straight since they really had little personality or anything to keep them distinct in my mind. By the end, I had a few of them down, but not nearly enough to keep me from getting frustrated. The main characters were well developed, however, and I really do like them. I especially liked the slightly older Livvy and watching the adults interact with the pre-toddler.

Equally frustrating was the writing. With the first in the series, I praised the detailed writing for bringing the story to life. This time, that same detail made me feel like I was wading through water. Quite often, we got Ellie's every action, not just the important points. I mean, does buckling a seat belt need its own sentence? I got so I was skimming descriptions so I could get on with the scene.

I am really torn with this one. Staying Home Is A Killer isn't bad, but it isn't good either. If the subject interests you, give it a try. Personally, I think I'll stay away from the next in the series.