Book Review: Wuthering Kites by Clover Tate (Kite Shop Mysteries #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Decent mystery; fun characters

Cons: Mystery could be stronger overall

The Bottom Line:

Body in the shop

Emmy soon compelled to solve

Fun, light mystery

How Did the Corpse Get Into Emmy's Shop?

I love the variety of hobbies represented by the cozy mysteries being published today.  A kite shop is definitely one of the more unique examples, but I've enjoyed spending time with Emmy Adler and the rest of the characters in this series, so I was glad to be back with them in Wuthering Kites.

Emmy has just moved into the apartment above her kite shop.  That's why she hears the scream when Stella, her part time employee, goes to open the store that morning.  Stella has found a dead body in the middle of the shop's floor.  Neither of the women recognize the victim, and the police aren't certain who she was either.  Who could the victim be?  Why was she in Emmy's locked shop in the middle of the night?  And who killed her?

Yes, I'm giving away that little of the plot in my teaser with this book.  That's because it has some great twists near the beginning that I don't want to spoil.  Unfortunately, the pace does slow down a time or two before the book is over, but that never lasted for long.  The climax is creative and wonderful, and I was hooked as Emmy finally put the pieces together.

You might be thinking that Emmy's reasons for looking into this murder are on the thin side.  Initially, Emmy has no desire to look into the latest death in town, but that doesn't last for long.  She winds up with a pretty good reason for looking into the death.

Since Emmy has moved into her own place, we don't get to see as much of her friend and former roommate Avery as in previous books, and I missed her and another couple of regulars.  On the other hand, we did spend more time with her sister, Sunny, who is great.  Several other regulars pop up, and a couple of them even get their own sub-plot.

Speaking of returning characters, one from the last book appears here, and the results spoils parts of that book.  I enjoyed seeing this character again, so I am definitely not complaining.  I just wanted to issue a warning in case so you can read the series unspoiled if you so desire.

Naturally, the book is populated with a list of suspects and other related characters.  They were strong enough to help keep me engaged as I was reading the book.

The first two books in the series were published as ebooks and mass market paperbacks.  This one is just coming out as an ebook.  If that means we get to see these characters again, I'm not complaining at all.

It really was nice to spend time with Emmy again.  If you are a fan of this series, you'll be glad you picked up a copy of Wuthering Kites.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book.