Murder is Anything but Groovy
I enjoyed the first book in Olivia Blacke’s Record Shop Mysteries, so I was looking forward to seeing where the characters would go next. Turns out, they were headed for death at a festival with A Fatal Groove, the second in the series.
If you missed the first, it revolves around Juni Jessup. She and her older sisters have reopened the record store that their grandparents had originally opened in Cedar River, Texas, a small town outside of Austin. In order to help draw in customers, they have added a coffee bar, and Juni is enjoying creating daily specials.
As this book opens, the Jessup sisters are getting ready for the Bluebonnet Festival, which the town is holding this weekend. They will be selling coffee – simple coffee, not their normal specialty drinks – as well as playing music between bands on the main stage.
Their first customer on Saturday is Mayor Bob who is looking for his caffeine fix. When Juni stops by city hall a little while later to drop something off for him, she discovers him dead in his office. Concerned that rumors they served him poison in his coffee will harm their business, the three sisters jump in to investigate again. Mayor Bob was popular because he didn’t do much, not making too many waves. So why would someone want to kill him?
Despite the book jumping in pretty quickly, it seems to stall for a bit before it really gets going. The book is spending some time introducing elements of the story and sub-plots. I get what the author was trying to do, but I felt like how it was done slowed this early part down.
The further I went into the book, the better the plot got, however. I did figure out the identity of the killer a little before Juni, but I needed her to help me piece together many of the details.
The book is narrated from Juni’s first-person point of view. With the first book, I did complain about the way they/them pronouns were used since Juni didn’t indicate she knew the person she was using them for. That happens again here; I was expecting it, so it didn’t throw me as much as it did in the first book, but it still seems odd. Additionally, we get some commits from her in the narration that comes across as judgmental and really don’t add anything to the story. I have a feeling we are supposed to be impressed with her, but it was the opposite for me. Worse yet, it threw me out of the book. If we added all of these instances up, we are talking about a page, maybe two, out of the entire book, but they are enough to stick in my mind. I’m sure this is a me thing, and most people won’t be bothered by it, but this is my review, so I’m including it. And it probably says more about me than it does about the book.
Overall, I did like Juni. She and her sisters are very different, yet they complement each other well, and I love seeing how they come together once again to figure out what is going on. There is a love triangle here, but it is mostly in the background. I hope it doesn’t drag on too long, especially since it is clear who Juni should choose. And no, my opinion on who she should choose hasn’t changed from the first book.
We get a light dose of humor as well. This isn’t a laugh a page kind of book, but there is plenty of fun watching the sisters and some of the other characters interact. We get some puns with Juni’s drink specials. And there is one scene that really had me laughing. I’m not going to say more so as not to spoil it.
Overall, A Fatal Groove is an enjoyable second book. If you are looking for something fun and enjoy music, you’ll be glad you picked it up.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I don't read a ton of cozies, but I like the record store/music festival setting in this one. It's one to keep in mind. Great review. :D
ReplyDeleteI like this series but agree with the slow start on this one.
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