Andy Finds a Corpse on His First Day
Author Marc Jedel has been on my radar for a while. In fact, I have Kindle copies of the first few books in his longest series. Still, when he started the Redwood Country Mysteries with Rivers and Creaks, I jumped on that book as well. I finally read it, and it was a mixed bag for me.
We meet Andy Shirley on the day he takes over a bed and breakfast in Monte Rio, California. The idea of running this during retirement was his late wife’s idea, and Andy is struggling with the idea of doing it on his own. But he couldn’t back out of the sale, so here he is.
Since the bed and breakfast was already up and running, Andy is handed over the keys with a full house of guests – specifically a wedding party. The previous owner has hardly left when screams summon Andy to the upstairs where the dead body of one of the bridesmaids has been found in her room. Andy worries that this might ruin his new business before he even gets started. Can he figure out what really happened?
Growing up in Northern California, I love the redwoods, so that’s what drew me to this book over some others the author has written. Imagine my surprise when it was set in a very small community in the county where I grew up. As always, I loved all the references to places I am very familiar with. Even better, I started reading it when I was at my parents’ for Christmas. Honestly, that might have colored the rest of my perception of the book.
The story is just as much about Andy moving into his new home as it was the murder. In fact, I often felt the murder took a backseat to the adjustments Andy was trying to adjust to. As a result, things felt a little underdone to me. The climax was also weaker than it could have been, but it did answer all the questions I had.
Then there’s Andy. He’s a self-proclaimed curmudgeon. On top of that, he’s dealing with the fairly recently death of his wife. As a result, he’s not super warm and outgoing. I appreciated a different character as the lead character in a series, but at times, I couldn’t believe someone in his 60’s would really be so dumb as to say the things he did. But that’s probably just me. On the whole, I did enjoy spending time with him. Even better, I enjoyed the new relationships he was forming with others in the community in this book. I see potential for people to draw him out of his shell as the series goes along.
One thing I completely enjoyed was the humor. I laughed multiple times as I was reading. And no, it wasn’t all puns.
Despite the problems I mentioned, I did enjoy reading the book. If Andy comes back with another case for him to solve, I will definitely read it. Hopefully, it builds on what came in Rivers and Creaks to make a stronger book.
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