Book Review: A Second Chance at Murder by Diana Orgain (Love or Money Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fast paced mystery, great characters, fun setting

Cons: I raced right past any cons

The Bottom Line:

Reality race

Murder and missing partner

Fast paced fun for us

Amazing Race of Murder

With all the TV I watch, you will notice I don’t watch too many reality shows.  One of the few I do is The Amazing Race because the tasks and the globetrotting appeal to me.  When I realized that author Diana Orgain was riffing off that for A Second Chance at Murder, I couldn’t wait to read it.

Money spends faster than you think it will.  That’s what Georgia and Scott have discovered when the prize money they won from Love or Money disappears quickly to pay off their bills.  So when Georgia’s friend Becca asks them to appear on Expedition Impossible, a show that will pit them against other teams in a race across Europe, they agree.

Things quickly go south when Georgia wakes up the night before the first leg of the race to find Scott isn’t in the tent they are sharing.  The next day, no one can find any trace of him.  All they can find is his watch under the body of a dead woman.  The good news is the police are indeed looking for Scott.  The bad news is that they are looking for him because they think he’s a killer.  Can Georgia find Scott first and prove he’s innocent?

When I read the first in the series this summer, I did comment that the reality show (that time a dating show) seemed to overwhelm the mystery.  That wasn’t the case here at all.  Yes, we got plenty of scenes of the race and the tasks that Georgia had to do, but the show and the race were a sub-plot to finding and clearing Scott.

And what a great mystery it was.  Between wondering what happened to Scott and who the killer was, there are two different avenues to forward the plot while giving the mystery a little something different.  There were plenty of clues and twists before we reached the logical, satisfying, and page turning ending.

Even though this book is set in Spain, all the characters we came to know and love are back for this second adventure, and we get to learn more about all of them.  Naturally, there are plenty of new characters as well, and these characters are just as real to us, and plenty of them take their turn in the suspect position before we reach the climax.

I also really enjoyed the fact that this book was set in Spain.  That added a fresh touch to the book and the author really used this location to the fullest.  Heck, I want to go visit some of these sites (without the mystery so I can fully enjoy it, of course).

All of this combines into a fun book that you will enjoy just as much as I did.  There is nothing second rate about this book.  A Second Chance at Murder is a page turning delight you will race through.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of this book to give away.  Because it is a physical book, the contest is limited to residence of the US.

Just leave me a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  I will pick the winner next Thursday, January 14th, so please leave your comment before 12:01AM Pacific Time on 1/13.  You will have until midnight on 1/19 to get back to me, or I will choose a new winner on 1/20.