I think the secret to really enjoying a cozy mystery is understanding the genre when you begin reading. Yes, there will likely be some dubious evidence. Yes, the super sleuth will often act in ways that make you go "hmmmmm." All of that is par for the course when you have a book genre that typically involves an amateur (usually with a job that either involves book or baking) solving a crime. Because let me put it this way: if you are reading this blog, you are probably into books, right? Does your bibliophile status qualify you to solve crime? I think not.
In Peppermint Peril, a first novel by Joy Avon, was not super different than other cozy mysteries I've read and, to be completely fair, the things that slowed my enjoyment of the book were pretty much all genre convention issues. Why is Callie butting into a police investigation of people she barely knows at this point in her life? How is she so nosy that she can just barge into people's lives and insist they answer personal questions? Beyond that, WHY are these people answering her? Especially considering the fact that to be forty years old, she seems a little naive.
Here's the other thing... the romance is weird. She spends a lot of time with this policeman that she initially butts heads with and even though he resents her totally unsolicited and overbearing presence in his police case, they seem to fall in love (it's open-ended). I thought about putting a spoiler warning here, but honestly, if you've ever read a book you'll smell it from their first interaction. Still, it was a cute romance, Falk seems like a nice guy who loves his family, and he tolerates Callie's busybody tendencies (that extend beyond amateur sleuthing) very well.
I would read this book. I know I'm not selling it, but again, you have to know what it is: it's a quick read; it's a whodunit without gore or excessive violence; it's charming.
Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!
3.5/5
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