When Callum Davidson’s ex-girlfriend Milly is found murdered in the hills behind Wirkster village, not far from his home or Milly’s, Callum is the first suspect. When he won’t reveal an alibi Milly’s plans for Christmas with Callum are in jeopardy. She must convince him to prove his innocence, to tell the police where he was the night of the murder or he faces a lifetime in prison.
Rather than face leaving his young nephew alone in the world Callum finally sees sense and reveals he has an alibi but even that doesn’t stop the chaos that is Milly and Callum’s life now. Someone, Maria’s real murder perhaps, is stalking Milly and their plans threaten not only Milly’s life but her beloved cat Edgar. Milly must find out who the murderer is, before it’s too late and the murderer ruins not only her Christmas plans but the rest of her life…
This book is part of a series of The Death Next Door, and Gone Missing.
Yet again my first read of the year was totally awful - I should really stop downloading free books and concentrate on the hundreds i have purchased. At least in this cozy mystery there was no animals helping her.
I knew I was in for a weird ride when the book opened with the main character finding a dead body, apparently her third in four months while walking her dogs, and realizing it was her current beau's ex fiancee. In fact, she even finds the ring he'd given the woman. Naturally, the first thing she does is pick it up with her bare hands. "Oh," you might be saying, "So obviously this is going to be a story about how she becomes a suspect in the murder and she has to solve it to save herself from prison. After all, she just found the body, pawed at the evidence, and she has motive because the woman was her lover's ex who was still keeping his ring." NOPE! At no point anywhere does anyone ever bring up her touching the evidence. At no point does anyone even joke about how weird it is that people in this village apparently just keep dumping bodies on this woman's dog walking path that no one else finds. We do, however, get boring, hard-to-follow info dumps about how the main character is very pretty and all her interpersonal relations. I hate to give any book such a low rating, I really do, but this was just not good. Even setting aside the typos and weird and sometimes missing punctuation, even setting aside the choppy and repetitive writing style ("They’d danced for two hours and enjoyed themselves, every single one, and had enjoyed every moment of it.") and weird pacing...it's barely even a realized story. None of the characters act or speak like how any real person would. (Spoilers ->) The main character doesn't even have any hand in solving the mystery - at the end, the perp walks into her house and explains everything in detail and then the story is over.
S. Y. Robins' cozy mystery Cold Death is an easy-to-solve mystery suitable for all ages.
The book includes 10 additional short mysteries also written by Robin's. These light-hearted mysteries are just a few chapters in length leaving little room for character development and deep plot twists.
The simplicity of the stories could be a turn-off for some readers but I disagree. This is a great book for taking along with you to read while waiting for an appointment, lounging at the beach or enjoying a leisurely meal solo.
When Maria Callum Davidson's Ex Girlfriend is found murdered in the Hills behind Wirkster Village not far from his home or Milly's . He becomes the prime suspect. When Callum won't provide the police with an alibi Milly's plans to spend Christmas with him are are in danger. She has to convince him to say where he was or spend the rest of his life in jail. Callum finally sees reason and provides an alibi but someone is stalking Milly and they are also threating her Cat Edgar. She must find the killer before before it's to late and the murderer ruins not only her Christmas but the rest of her life!
While walking the dogs, Milly finds the body of Callum’s ex Maria. Callum is immediately a suspect and is taken into custody, so Milly decides that she is going to solve this crime on her own. She has the knowledge, having already solved her share of murders. Callum refuses to tell her where he was that night, and with good reason. He was nowhere near the scene of the crime and when he gives his alibi and proof, he is released. This story definitely kept me guessing and the end is really sweet, though a little soon in my opinion.
While walking the dogs, Milly finds the body of Callum’s ex Maria. Callum is immediately a suspect and is taken into custody, so Milly decides that she is going to solve this crime on her own. She has the knowledge, having already solved her share of murders. Callum refuses to tell her where he was that night, and with good reason. He was nowhere near the scene of the crime and when he gives his alibi and proof, he is released. This story definitely kept me guessing and the end is really sweet, though a little soon in my opinion. Reviewed by Cryssy :)
I read this over breakfast this morning, having read other shorts by S.Y Robins and enjoyed them I was expecting a lot more from this. I liked the cat Edgar, but the story just jumped around too much and made little sense. I've got a few more shorts to read which I hope will be much better than this.
A quick read about a murdered ex and blossoming romance. Milly's morning walk with some furry friends takes a nasty turn when Edgar the cat discovers the body of Callum's ex girlfriend. With her best friend as the prime suspect, Milky will do anything to get him off the hook. Will she succeed?