Book Review: Tagged for Death by Sherry Harris (Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Sarah and a complex, interesting plot

Cons: Writing can be a bit choppy at times

The Bottom Line:

Bloody clothes from sale

Lead Sarah to mystery

In this strong debut

Tag This as a Great Series Debut

I realize Thanksgiving was last week, but I’m so thankful I found the Wicked Cozy Authors blog this year for two reasons.  First, I have fun reading and commenting on it every day.  Second, I have found some great new authors as a result.  Today marks the debut for blog member Sherry Harris, and Tagged for Death is a sure winner.

After almost twenty years as an Air Force wife, Sarah Winston finds her husband, CJ, had a one night stand with a young woman also in the Air Force, resulting in Tiffany becoming pregnant.  Sarah immediately divorces CJ, but stays in the area to rebuild her life.

One thing she loves to do is go going to garage sales on Saturdays, often returning to pick up donations for the thrift store on base near the end of the day.  However, when she starts sorting through her most recent load of donations, she stumbles across two shirts covered in blood.  Worse yet, she recognizes them as belonging to CJ and Tiffany.  When she learns that Tiffany has disappeared, she truly begins to worry.  What has happened to the young woman?  And who planted the items in Sarah’s car?

The story starts off with a bang (literally) and doesn’t really slow down until it reaches the end.  There are some believable and well developed red herrings that really kept me guessing along the way.  I had a small part of the solution figured out, but only a very small part.  The rest completely surprised me.

The characters are great as well.  Sarah is well developed and very sympathetic, and the characters important to the story are real as well.  I felt that a couple of her friends didn’t seem completely real to me, but then I realized they didn’t actually spend much time on the page.  For the amount of time they were on the page, they were fairly well developed, and I’m sure they will grow as the series does.

The only complaint I do have about this book is the writing style.  Most scenes and chapters seem to start with multiple short sentences in a row, which came across as choppy and annoyed me.  Once a scene got going, that would disappear, and I’d be right there as part of the action.

On the other hand, the tone of the book overall is perfect for the events happening in the story and Sarah’s frame of mine.  It was masterfully done.

Tagged for Death is a winning debut that will have you turning pages until you reach the final one.  I’m already looking forward to Sarah’s next bargain with death.

Don't miss any deals!  Here are the rest of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

And how about a giveaway!  I'm going to give away one copy of this book to a lucky reader.  Just leave a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  Your choice of a physical book (US addresses only) or an ebook.  The contest will close at midnight next Monday, December 8th.  Good luck.