Cons: Ending a bit rushed
The Bottom Line:
Fundraiser gone wrong
Brings us more murder, mayhem
For fun third volume
Stripping Down Distractions Until a Killer is Revealed
While the majority of books I read (or cozies in
general) feature a young woman, I’m always on the lookout for a fun series that
features a different kind of protagonist.
One such series is the Murder on the Bucket List series by
father/daughter writing team known as Elizabeth Perona. Murder at the Male Revue is the third book in this fun series.
The books feature a group of women of a certain age
who, at the age of sixty, each created a bucket list of 60 items. They’ve only recently started trying to accomplish
those items, over ten years later, but it seems that crossing items off their
list also involves murder.
This book finds the group working a fund raiser for
the local community center and pool.
Mary Ruth is catering the event, which is an auction of members of the
local male revue. It just so happens
that going to a strip club is one of the items on Joy’s list, so the event is
serving a dual purpose. However, the
biggest surprise of the night happens when the live auction has hardly started,
and it sets off pure chaos. Before
things get back under control, the president of the town council winds up dead.
Camille was Charlotte’s neighbor, and Francine’s son
was good friends with Camille’s nephew Eric, the leader of the male revue
troop. Not that Charlotte needs these as
encouragement to jump in and solve a murder, dragging Francine and the others
with her. What secrets was Camille
hiding? Which of them got her killed?
Like the other books in this series, this is a fun
book with plenty of twists and turns.
Even as these ladies unearthed clues, motives, and suspects, I was left
wondering exactly what had happened. I
did feel the ending was a bit abrupt, but that’s my only complaint about the
book.
Meanwhile, these characters are fun. Francine is our third person view point
character, and she is a great window into the mystery. Charlotte is her main side kick, although Joy
and Mary Ruth get their scenes. Fans of
the series will notice that I haven’t mentioned Alice yet. She is actually out of town for the action of
this book, but that allows us to get to know the other four ladies better. I can’t leave out the suspects, who are all
equally suspicious at some point in the book.
Plus, there’s the humor. These ladies find themselves in some crazy
slapstick situations over the course of the book in addition to some fun
dialogue between the friends. Trust me,
you’ll be smiling and laughing as you attempt to solve the case.
While this book does mention the events of the first
book in the series, by necessity, it spoils a big portion of the plot of the
second book. The authors attempt to do
their best to avoid it, but it’s pretty much impossible. The solution?
Go back and start the series with book one.
And that’s no hardship at all. These ladies are sure to keep you
entertained. You’ll be reading Murder at the Male Revue before you know
it.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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