A Nose for Hanky Panky

Granite Cove #1

by Sharon Love Cook

It's midnight in Granite Cove and only the sea clams are open. Murder creates havoc in this sleepy New England fishing village and Rose McNichols, reporter for the Granite Cove Gazette, is drawn into the case. Who killed Vivian Klinger, Ph.D., a woman too perfect for mere mortals, a woman who had everything but a sense of humor?

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

299 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2010

Reviews

[Lyn Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure to read A Nose for Hanky Panky. Sharon Love Cook offers high quality writing in a compelling story with a strong sense of small town New England Coast and a distinctively quirky main character, Rose, who comes with pluckiness but plenty of ambivalence. Many of the chapters end in a delightful exchange of communication with Auntie Pearl, to whom readers of Rose's newspaper write for advice--and what advice it is! The smaller scenes are well done throughout, with original descriptions, a strong cast of supporting characters, insight into small town coastal life, and even a plan to improve elder care. Cook hits her stride with the chapters beginning with a country club lunch, the party to celebrate a dog's emotional recovery, the romantic back story of the woman who is murdered, and on to the finish in a climactic scene that would please even Agatha. This book definitely kept me turning pages to see what's next, fueled by Cook's marvelous humor and well-paced plot.

[Nancy]

Rose McNichols, of Granite Cove, MA, worked for a small newspaper. A socially prominent psychologist is murdered and Rose is drawn into the investigation. She eventually finds the murderer, the realtor wife of a lawyer, who wanted to build condos next to the ocean and thought her husband was having an affair with the realtor.

[Anne Turnley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing

Rose is an interesting woman. She seems to value her independence above all else. Her boyfriend is handsome and she wants him all to herself but, not inner space. She knows her town and just had to find the murderer.

[Robin Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon Love Cook is a breath of fresh air for cozy mysteries! Where others can be sloppy and leave gaps in their reasoning, Cook ties up the loose ends and is not guilty of leaving you wondering.

Why would a "big city type" reporter end up in a small hamlet? It's simple, it's on the shore north of Boston, it's humbly lovely and her infirm father is in a home there. Enough said.

The big city reporter mentality clashes with the small town "society editor" mentality of the paper's management. So there's friction. Rose McNichols wants to be a hard core reporter - when the locals are really more interested in Bertha's mac and cheese recipe than they are in corruption lurking in their one-man government. Who's right - the hard news reporter or the gentle society editor pandering to her subscribers? You decide. But you get why these conflicts arise. And you care!

Cook also brilliantly juxtaposes a flawless murder victim with a pleasantly flawed but frustrated reporter. Is the murder victim, though dead, still superior to the overreaching reporter? Thought provoking.

Cook's use of humor is a delight. Because the household hints columnist wants to cut back - the society editor assigns the column to the hard news reporter who has no interest or knowledge in the subject and suggests she "have fun with it." Cook's protagonist glibly comments that she is - but readers have yet to notice. That subtle wit is peppered throughout the mystery and never disappoints!

A cozy mystery that is well written, holds together and provides sophisticated humor is such a welcome relief from the sloppy, slap dash examples that are clearly not thought through. Thanks Sharon - we want to read more about Granite Cove.

[Nina Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful comedic murder mystery, set in small town America, where the usual petty jealousies abound, on this occasion spilling over into the murder of a local lady. The first in the series, the story introduces us to sassy, breezy, Rose, who uses her journalistic credentials to investigate and solve such murder is. It's a fun page turner and isn't laid down with emotional navel-gazing. Violence and is kept to minimum. The author successfully conceals the villain until the last moment.
One for a lazy weekend.
Nina Jon is the author of the Jane Hetherington Adventures in Detection crime and mystery series. To learn more please link through www.ninajonbooks.com

[Patricia Gligor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "A Nose for Hanky Panky" by Sharon Love Cook and I highly recommend it. The plot was intriguing and the characters were well developed. I especially loved the author's sense of humor throughout the book. Several times, I laughed out loud.
The main character, Rose McNichols, writes a humorous advice column under the pen name of Auntie Pearl for the local newspaper in the small town of Granite Cove. When psychologist, Vivian Klinger, is murdered, Rose is determined to find her killer. In the process, she puts her own life in serious jeopardy.

[Sarahanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story but it bogged down quite a bit. The characters were sledgehammers where they could have been more subtle. Parts of the ploy leaped forward and others took sooooo long. I'm hoping that the author will keep writing and smooth out some of those bumps. The plot had some good ideas and I would try reading another novel to see how the writing skills progressed.

[Mascanlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Granite Cove is a sleeping fishing village until a prominent psychologist is killed in her office. The local reporter Rose McNichols, tired of the traffic and social beat is determined to figure out who killed her and why.

[Kathryn Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was looking for something to read on my kindle late last night. I found a few free samples of different books. This is one of them.
I finished this book and it was not that great. Very simple story and it didn't need 300+ pages to tell it.

[Karey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this for free from Amazon. Now I see why - the characters were ridiculous and I still have yet to figure out how she figured out the "mystery". I will not be reading any more of this series....just took too long in some parts while others didn't make sense and bogged down the story.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose McNichols, reporter for the town's newspaper, becomes involved in helping to solve the murder of the town's prominent psychologist as well as being involved in trying to uncover a real estate development that threatens a historical site. A little humor and a good mystery.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the mystery in this better than ones I've read lately but I could not stand ANY of the characters and I downright hated the main girl! I definitely won't be reading any more of these!

[Rae Wong · Rating 2 out of 5]

did not like the characters

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too many suspects or viable motives but I liked the characters. Set in fictitious seaside town in MA. Sounds like north shore.

[Lizz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually 2.5 - maybe 2.75. It was just okay. Totally predictable and slightly annoying. But it was free, and free is always good.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book...that's about all I can say!

[Cindy Mink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books that are light and fun, without all of the hard core violence. Sometimes while reading, you just want to escape to a simple place and meet fun people with a fun mystery.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.

It's a quick read and an easily solvable mystery.

[Sharon Bezrutczyk]

This is the first one I read. I will definitely read more.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book only 2 stars becauseof the unnecessary swearing.

[Cheryl Kapocsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. A cute cozy novel.