Book Review: Dead as a Doornail (Until the Fat Ladies Sing #3) by Linda P. Kozar

With her wedding to Hudson just months away, all Lovita's plans seem to be going awry. A crooked politician is running for Mayor, his girlfriend is opening a new beauty shop in town, and the contractor building Sue Jan and Monroe's dream home is found dead, with Monroe as their prime suspect. To top it all off, the money from the high school band fundraiser has disappeared. Now the kids won't be able to go to New York City and march in the Macy's Day parade. All the girls have to do is nail the real killer, find the missing money, save their beauty shop, and rescue the little town of Wachita, before Lovita walks down the aisle. Can two big bodaciously beautiful women do it? Piece of cake.

I have received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Lovita is anxiously waiting for the day to marry her fiancé. Everything is satisfactory in her life, she runs a boutique with her forever friend Sue Jan in the small town of Wachita, and she will have the wedding of her dreams. But a series of mysteries start happening, that will have Lovita and Sue Jan acting as detectives. First, some money collected for the school band has been stolen, and then the building renovator in Sue Jan’s house is found dead, and Sue Jan’s husband, who is running for mayor, is declared a person of interest.

This is a light and cozy mystery, in which we are transported to a small town. I think this type of stories, set in small places tend to work quite well since it is easy to get acquainted with all the characters and their surroundings. The characters were not extremely developed, but their personalities were clear and their relationships and conversations felt natural. I really enjoyed Lovita’s personality, despite that her life goals are quite different than mine. I found the atmosphere quite conservative and traditionalist, but I guess this is what you can expect from small town folk. Even the differences of opinion we may have I have greatly enjoyed this book and the comic situations Lovita and Sue Jan experienced. It was an easy and light listen, ideal to start my weekend after a hard week at work.

This is the third book in a series, but I have to say that it stands very well on its own. I have not listened to books one and two, and I had no issues in following the story or connecting to the characters.

The real reason for me to have listened to this book is that it is narrated by the wonderful Michelle Babb. She has become one of my favorite female narrators. She is expressive, she gets the nuances of the story and transmits them successfully to the listener, and she can make voices. I could listen to any book narrated by her for hours and not get tired of it.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was a different kind of mystery book, light and easy to the ear, and Michelle Babb makes everything shine.

Story 3.5 stars, narration 5 stars.

Available at Amazon/Audible

lomeraniel

My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.

I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.