A Dead End

Saints & Strangers #1

by Keeley Bates

Kit Wilder is all washed up at the ripe old age of twenty-three. Blackballed by the producers of her hit TV show, she returns home to the affluent town of Westdale, chock full of Mayflower descendants, to enroll in college and lead a quiet life...until she discovers a skeleton in her house.

Kit quickly finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation led by the handsome detective, Romeo Moretti. With the help of her new neighbors, Kit channels her former character, hotshot detective Ellie Gold, in order to solve the murder so she can get back to renovating her house and avoiding the Mayflower Madam, who also happens to be her hypercritical, gin-swilling mother.

Saints & Strangers cozy mystery series:
Book 1: A Dead End
Book 2: The Deep End
Book 3: The Bitter End

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Amazon, Ebooks, Romance

194 pages, ebook

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

Keeley Bates is the author of humorous women's fiction. She published her first work, Hostel Takeover, in September 2011 and her next novel, The Mother Load, is expected in June 2012.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ripsnorter of a find on Kindle Australia, the first of a series which is free.(as of Feb 2019)
A funny cozy of a young woman called Kit Wilder who has been black banned from the film and television industries and returns home to her small, very privileged, very snooty hometown. While starting to renovate her new home she comes across a skeleton under the floorboards, and decides to investigate the crime herself so she can get back into her new home.
This really was a fun and funny read that I literally flew through and enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. It has a comic murder mystery feel to it, not unlike the TV show Castle. In fact, I could see it playing out as such in my mind's eye.
While I found Kit's snooty mother's affinity to stray and abused animals amusing, I must say a viper in bed = dead. You can't pick the damn thing up and kiss it! But apart from that bit of ridiculousness, it was altogether such an entertaining read that I've downloaded the next book in the series.

[Cayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book--very clean! No sex, if that's what you're concerned about. It has a steady pace. A little humor in places and a good dose of mystery. Despite the good things I have to say about it, I'm not really feeling the "pull" to keep this book in my personal library.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first installment in the Saints & Strangers cozy mystery series. It stars Kit Winthrop, who is a former tv star back in Westdale to start a new chapter in her life. She has purchased a new house, and while renovating it she discovers the remains of a dead body under her living room floor! Between her overbearing, high society mother and the nosy neighbors who live in Kit's street, she helps dreamy detective Moretti try to find out who killed her home's prior owner. She also starts college at the local university and attempts to get along with her mother at some society events. All in all this was a good read, which even had a pretty good twist at the end. I will def read more in this series!

[Chris Blackton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too cutesy for my taste! For instance the cops were named Harley and Jamieson a play on Harley Davidson. The lead cop's name was Romeo Moretti, too much like Stephanie Plum's Joe Morelli. The elderly neighbours bickering was tiresome as was the hackneyed mother/daughter relationship. Fortunately, this was a novella! I don't think I could have tolerated much more.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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This is a light read that entertains with some cute scenes. Unfortunately, there some unrealistic scenes included as well. All in all, it was enjoyable, but not unforgettable.

There was nothing outstanding to focus my review on, although there were some editing and grammatical errors that distracted from the focus somewhat.

It is clean and has an H.E.A.

[Payal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and interesting. I questioned the twist from the beginning (second chapter), and wasn't surprised when it happened. It was filled with interesting characters who were moderately funny. Loved that the author didn't treat elderly with the usual invisibility of society. I am not sure if I will continue this series though.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast moving, cute, good summer read with a surprise end

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book I would recommend this book to any one who wants an excellent read. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[Mary Ann Von Aschen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

This is a fun story and a quick read. It kept me very interested all the way to the end.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun but predictable

I was looking for a mindless light as air cozy. I found this. It's supposed to be set in Chester County, PA, but some of the details don't ring true to the area. The snobs in the book are supposed to be obsessed with their Mayflower ancestry, but in southeastern Pennslyvania, true ancestor worship centers on one's Quaker or Main Line blood, and one is more likely to be involved with the Daughters of the American Revolution. Also, the snobbery is overdrawn and intrusive. Otherwise this fluffy mystery is a fun couple of hours.

[SalScamander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow to start with, it took me time to get into it. But after a few chapters it started to look promising, & turned out to be a good book. I want to read the second one in the series now. Read first chapter excerpt & it has me curious as to how that story will go. The protagonist was slightly annoying & vein. But I didn’t let that spoil the story. It was quite mild & not in youf face type annoying.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining book.

[Penelope Wolfe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young adult novella with some redeeming qualities

This book is too short and skimpy to be considered a novel. All throughout, I had the uncomfortable feeling that it was written for the 6th grade reading level. Not terribly sophisticated in language, it even uses a nearly illiterate interpretation of the phrase "rabble-rouser." Which is it: rabble rouser or rebel rouser? It’s rabble rouser, rabble meaning “a confused collection of things” or “a motley crowd.”
Another of my suspicions that the book is aimed at adolescents or the immature, is the confrontational relationship that Kit has with her mother. Sure, I know it's supposed to be funny. But these are like cartoon characters.
If it were better written, I think the setting and culture would be hilarious. There is something interesting about the actress trying to solve a crime by remembering old procedural TV cop show scripts.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love a good little cozy mystery for a relaxing, no-brainer read. That's not to say that these mysteries can't be really good and well-written etc. It's just when I'm tired, or I've done a lot of "heavy" reading, I sometimes like a break and these books provide that for me.

I thought this story was engaging and although Kit is a bit juvenile, I sill like her. Romeo was a fun addition to the story as well. I didn't think their characters were fully developed though, so for that reason I wasn't really able to connect with them. But overall I thought it was a likable book.

[Veronica Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read, and it was cute for a murder mystery. The book introduced several characters that will continue on the series, and the relationship between them. Good start to the series without being too serious.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAJOR Plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

4.5 stars

This was the second cozy mystery that I have read this month, and the second cozy mystery that I have ever read, though I have read Nancy Drew books as a kid, but I don’t consider that as cozy mystery and not sure if that’s even consider a cozy mystery or not, so I’m going to consider this to be my second one. After reading this one, this made me want to get into more cozy mysteries in the future, and I may try to read at leas one cozy mystery a month, but we will see.

Anyway talking about this specific one in particular. I really, really enjoyed it. This was what I was expecting when going into cozy mystery with the suspense element, the adrenaline rush, the clues, the twists and turns along the way, and just compelling mystery in general that kept me on the edge my seats. It made me compelled to keep on reading because I wanted the next piece in the puzzle as I tried to figure out who the murder was. I was so surprised by the answer because I didn’t see the twist coming that turned everything up on its head of what I believed to be true to what was really true. I thought it was a huge twist that shocked me, which exactly what I wanted and expected from this genre, and was kind of disappointed that I didn’t get that feeling with my first cozy, but this one more than made up for it. It was so good. It worked and made totally sense in the grand scheme of the entire mystery. I loved that part of the book.

Aside from the surprising twist in this story, I was also surprised by other elements in the story that I was expecting that had nothing to do with the mystery. It gave me quite few feels while reading it on many different levels.

I would say the main one was the romance in this story. Now, I’m a romantic centric reader. That’s my genre. I love romance, and that’s never going to change. I’m going to keep on reading it for the rest of my life. With that being said with this being a cozy mystery, I was expecting there to no real romance or even hints of romance or at least not to the level of what an actual romance books is, but I have to say that there was quite a bit of hinted romance in here. The weird thing was there were more dates between Kit and Romeo than the romance books that I have read. Okay sure, Kit and Romeo’s dates were mostly them exchanging information on the case of the murder, but they still took the time to get know each other during these meetings and enjoy each other’s company like normal date stuff. So, their relationship built and grew throughout the course of the book. It was wonderful to see that transformation. They went from having a spark of attraction to one another, to teasing moments with each other, amazing banter, trust built between them, working together to solve the crime then protectiveness over each other. It was amazing, and I freaking adored their relationship. They made me laugh whenever they threw quips at each other with their tongue and cheek moments with each other. I loved the flirting between them. It as subtle, but it was there, and I so appreciated that. I wasn’t even disappointed that there was no kiss between them because the ending hinted that their relationship was going to go into the dating territory. It was clear that was what going to happen early on, but I liked how it ended on that note. Just they were spot on for me as upcoming couple.

While I was reading this story I also got vibes of a Castle meets Nancy Drew vibe going on. Kit and Romeo reminded me so much of Kate and Castle from Castle because Kit was an actress who played a detective on TV and Romeo was the actually detective that had many, many years of experience in solving crimes and just police work in general, who didn’t want Kit involved in the case or going to investigation on her ow with Romeo wanting here to leave it to him since it was his job. While in Kate and Castle it was the same thing, yet in reverse with Kate being the detective while Castle was this crime author that wanted to get involved in the case she was investigating and helping her solve crimes, but Kate thought he was annoying and might get in the way and believing the professionals doing the job. It gave me those similar vibes on that end, but also with the banter with the snarky comments back and forth. It just took me to Castle when certain scenes came out in this book. I loved that because I really loved that show so it gave me those nostalgia type feels that I enjoyed reliving.

There were other interesting elements to this story that I enjoyed as well. I liked the whole set up fo Kit coming home to affluent hometown of Westdale after being blackballed by Hollywood due the fact that she was seeing some injustices done in the industry that she spoke up about it, which Hollywood didn’t take too kindly to. So, she decided to buy a foreclosed house, renovated while going to college. What I didn’t expect was the relationship with her mother, and how she didn’t get along with her. I could understand why because he mother was a complete snob and ice queen when it came to her daughter hence why Kit didn’t want to live with her at that mansion of a house she grew up in. It was interesting to see that play out as well as how it effected Kit when she returned home. Kit didn’t want to be around her mother as possible so renovating her new house was very welcome to her only to find a set of human remains under the floorboards of the house hence where the mystery began, and she met Romeo.

There were quite a few quirky, interesting characters along the way both old and young that I really enjoyed. They made the story richer. They made the story more compelling. I paid attention to them because I was trying to figure out if they had anything to do with the murder. Suspicion had been thrown on quite a few neighbors. They had motives so I was zeroing and speculating whether they could have done it or not. I didn’t want them to responsible because I liked them, but I knew couldn’t let my guard down either. I had to be prepared for anything. It made me very engaged and invested in the story as the mystery played out.

Overall I was really impressed with this cozy mystery. It had what I wanted with the mystery, but it gave me so much more than I ever expected to get. The romance, though subtle, was very good, and I was very into it. I loved how Romeo and Kit’s relationship played out. I loved the banter between them. I loved how flirt with one another. I loved how they worked together as a team. I loved how they put the pieces of the mystery together and basically solved together. I got a lot of feels that I just wasn’t expecting. The suspense was good. The mystery was good. I was so happy there was a twist. The twist threw me for a loop, and I didn’t see coming. It just flipped everything on its head of what I believed beforehand. It was so good. It kept me on my toes. I was sucked in as soon as those bone were found. I was totally in after that. The mystery was just spot on for me. This story had the type of mystery and suspense that I wanted when I pick up a cozy mystery to read. So, this was a winner in my book.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another Kindle freebie. A nice little mystery, but not nearly as good as the other mysteries I read. Not much development of the characters, and a lot of jumping around. I will not read any more of the series.

[Ht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny. Kept me interested. Read this book in one day.

[Penny Kimball · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love this one but I didn't totally hate it either. Although I usually prefer my murder mysteries to be psychological thrillers, I still like to kick back with the rom-com version every so often. This one wasn't horrible, but it didn't tick a lot of boxes for me.

The main problem for me was the protagonist Kit. She was a little too one-note for me, and without a single flaw. She's a beautiful and famous actress, she's been blackballed by Hollywood for sticking up for herself, and now she's forced to move back to her affluent hometown where she's fixing up the house she bought and her mother has pulled strings to get her into college and is also paying for it. I suppose we're meant to feel sorry for her, but dealing with her mother's snobbishness doesn't seem like much of a hardship. Everyone likes her and magically she is good at pretty much everything. And she's clearly better than her mother's society friends because she likes to walk everywhere and she's fixing up her own house.

Her love interest is the handsome detective named Romeo who doesn't have much of a personality at all other than to flirt with Kit. We learn next to nothing about him other than the fact that he's handsome and Italian. He didn't feel fully fleshed out and for a murder mystery, there wasn't a lot of plot development. Clue here, gossip there, a few red herrings and then a quick resolution that felt rushed without much fanfare. The secondary and background characters were more interesting to me.

This was book one in a series, so I realize the author probably intends to build on these characters over time, but this one didn't hold my interest enough to even want to read any of the other books in the series.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't really think of a better word to describe Bates' A Dead End than this: cute. Because, just like its down-on-her-luck actress of a main character, the novel is cute. But, substantially, it's not much more than that.

Failed actress Kit returns to her hometown of Westdale to attend college, purchasing a fixer-upper with the last of her showbiz money to avoid returning to the home of her socialite mother. Amid her renovations, she uncovers a literal skeleton in her new house, and handsome Italian detective Romeo is called to work on the case.

All of the characters are quirky and unique in a Gilmore Girls kind of way, from a mother with a mansion full of stray animals to a pair of elderly 'frenemy' neighbors. While this started out sweet, it quickly became too overdone. But it's a quick read, the writing isn't bad at all, and it's not a terrible mystery - as in, it wasn't great but I've definitely seen worse. Bates, at least, seems to know exactly what she's doing: creating a fun little love story for the armchair detective. The trouble isn't with Bates' book so much as it is getting it into the hands of the right audience.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first Cosy Mystery and after reading it, I am very hesitant to read another. I thought the plot would make a really good mystery story but unfortunately, my hopes were too high after reading the blurb.

I was okay with the beginning of the book but as the story unfolded, it really didn't unfold into something compelling.

The focus was on the life of Kit Wilder and how she made friends in college, didn't like being around her mother and the "handsome" cop investigating the mystery of what was found in her living room.

The book felt really girly and like something early teenaged girls would be a fan of reading. I did have to skim through the pages by the time I was halfway through because I wanted to know more about the mystery and not about Kit's boring life.

To make matters worst, when I got to the end where the mystery was uncovered, I was extremely underwhelmed.

Overall, do I recommend this book?... Yes, I do. To teens. I don't believe any adult will be interested in such underwhelming, girly story, and if you are an adult who has read this book and you enjoyed it, well good, that's your preference and I don't judge you for it. I rate this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

[Sid Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Dead End" has a fun premise: its heroine is an actress who played a cop on TV. Now, blackballed by Hollywood, she's returned to her hometown--only to get sucked into a real-life murder.

The murder plot itself is the kind of zany thing that's a staple of cozy humorous mysteries. It's not exactly realistic, but it is good reading. Kit's experiences as a semi-famous actress who gets confused for the cop she used to play is entertaining and a bit different: instead of the glamor and name-dropping of books set in Hollywood, her celebrity here is played for laughs. There's the obligatory conflict with her mother and the frisson between her and the hot detective investigating the case, and of course the cast of crotchety old ladies who drive the plot. All in all, "A Dead End" has all the trimmings of a cozy mystery, but it's lighthearted and a little bit different. Recommended for cozy fans and, since Kit is in her early 20s, fans of NA fiction.

[Jenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Amazon freebie so I didn’t expect much, as often the free ones aren’t worth reading. I was pleasantly surprised and really struggled to give it only 3 stars. I’d rate it more as 3 1/2 but keep in mind I’m a tough rater. Rarely do I give 5 stars. The writing was clean, the storyline kept me interested even though it was quite light, and it moved at a good pace. I have to admit I was concerned at 1st that I’d find the main character annoying based on the original description of her background but she was a joy as far as cozy mystery heroines go. She was clever, bright, witty, and didn’t make those ridiculous “don’t go down there!”mistakes that I often find in cozy mysteries. I’d definitely read on in the series as well as check out the author’s other series. I recommend this as a good read even if you have to pay for it.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Like Watching a Crime, Romance, Comedy

This was a pretty good read. This is only book 1 so maybe more of the romance story will be told in book 2. This book was focused more on the crime aspect of the storyline. Which, that isn’t a bad thing. The plot developed very well. I LOVE the characters and their chemistry. The dialogue was executed better than most books. I enjoyed reading this book, because I found out who the killer was right along with the characters in the book! My only dislike (and this is extremely small) is some of the writing seemed kind of corny. Some of the lines were cheesy. However, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. It also might be something that others might not view the way I did. It’s merely my opinion, and don’t let it stop you from missing out on a great cozy mystery!

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and unrealistic fun read

I read the reviews of Dead End before buying this book, so I knew what I was getting. On the plus side, the writing is decent and it's been proofread well. As in most cozies, there isn't any bad language, sex, or gratuitous violence. The mystery isn't bad and the characters are mostly likable. On the minus side, Kit is not a very believable character, nor is the police procedural realistic. I enjoyed the book despite its shortcomings, though. It's a fast and easy read, and it has some humor. I would probably say it's more a 3.5 than a 4 star read, but I give credit to any author who can spell and use good grammar. I might try more in this series just for fun.

[Jada · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read

Light, quick read. Not a lot of thrills or twists, but still mostly enjoyable.

Kit's a fun main character/narrator, her post Hollywood attitude and nods to the reality of being a millennial, mannerisms, social media use, etc. give her a sense of realism, even amidst getting involved in the investigation into the skeleton she found in her new house. (Which is less realistic, but still.)

Not a lot of depth to her or any other character, but still touches on race/class issues. I also have point of contention about the able-ist language in reference to the "crazy old ladies" who are Kit's neighbors.

Overall, an acceptable read, if not necessarily one I'd read again. But I am considering reading book two in the series at some point.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kit was a popular Hollywood actress before getting blacklisted for standing up for the crew on her cop show. Now she’s back in her hometown, which is full of the Mayflowers descendants. She decides to start the next chapter in her life by enrolling in college and buying and renovating her newly purchased house. During the first day of renovations she discovers a skeleton under her floor boards. The previous owner disappeared could it be him? She decides to investigate the case so she can return to the house quicker and doesn’t mind the hot looking detective in charge Romeo. This was a nice quick uncomplicated read. Although no one liked the previous owner and there are plenty of suspects. I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading the next one.

[Ppcfransen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started off well, though after a while I grew a bit weary of Kit's one time TV show and how her mother is nicer to all animals than to her.

Then the detective / potential lover interest made a lewd remark, which made me question his suitability as a love interest (though the remark was probably ment to show his suitability). Later on he texts Kit about a person of interest in the investigation. Why? Even when the police are keeping an interested party up-to-date (and Kit can be considered an interested party because she found the body), they do not share this many details. The book lost it, when the detective made Kit bait to trap the murderer . That just left a bad taste.

2.5* because it's not overall bad.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving back to the snooty neighbourhood she grew up in after her Hollywood career crashed, to say that Kit is suprised when a skeleton turns up in her newly purchased home would be an understatement. With some new-found friends, she decided to let the detective role she played in Hollywood take over real life, and investigate - doesn't hurt that the real police detective investigating does not hurt your eyes.
Very amusing, very likeable protagonists and side characters with a lot of quirks, and a very good narration style make this book a joy to read, enjoying witty dialogues and, though occasionally a bit far-fetched for my taste, quite a good plot development.
Good start to a new series that I am very likely to follow.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction to this series is short compared to most cozy mystery novels. Kit is a twenty something, blacklisted (because of outspoken, altruistic behavior) TV star returns to her high class hometown to go to college. Rather than move back to her mother's estate, she buys a house in which she finds skeletal remains. I did not really like her character. She came off as privileged and egotistical, along with feeling sorry for herself because her mother won't release her trust fund. The town police chief corrupt, protecting other privileged citizens, as well as his personal feelings. The detective on the case who overtly flirts with Kit is the only "good" officer on the case. Not likely to search out book 2 of this series.