Aliens and the Dearly Departed

Luckland Mystery #2

by M.J. Miller

Exes, aliens, and hypnotic illusions terrorize one of Luckland's own.
When Pippa receives an emergency text, she doesn't expect to find one of her mother's BFFs missing or have a basement blow up right beneath her feet. Star maps and exes haunt Prudence's past, so Pippa and Devon take a trip to Roswell to chase the origins of an alien statue, only to uncover mysteries that go far beyond the realms of outer space. Between a kidnapping, ancient spirits, and new secrets involving Luckland's legendary gold, Pippa and Devon discover how far the ladies will go to protect their own.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

A lifelong teller of tales, MJ Miller grew up inspired and mentored by an entertaining collection of master storytelling matriarchs. Women who could spin a yarn better than anyone. A native New Yorker and mother of two amazing women, MJ and her fabulously supportive husband share their Tucson home with their resident feline geniuses, Darwin and Miss Chloe. A hopeless romantic, MJ loves to tell tales filled with romance, mystery and mayhem that keep the reader turning pages long into the night.

Reviews

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aliens and the Dearly Departed

Writing: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Mystery: 3/5

From the start, I found Pippa off-putting. She complains about her looks (as if freckles and red hair are a flaw? The author's bias is showing), Pippa is self-conscious and judgmental of others' to an annoying degree. The writing is awkward, littered with irrelevant details like her parents' sleeping in separate places and her boyfriend's kissing skills. We're here for a mystery, not a romance (and if it is a romance, it's poorly paced).

The book reads like a poor Nancy Drew, except the protagonist is 30, dating police chief Devon (who is never busy despite his title but police have to be sexualized so here we go), apparently its set in a Native American myth filled town (No really they mention that a lot but it goes nowhere). The mystery starts with an alien statue breaking revealing something inside!

The narrative veers into "aliens are real, right?" territory, with characters delving into the "sexual habits of aliens." Soon, a plot involving hidden gold unfolds. The alien statue mysteriously reappears in mint condition, signaling attempts to intimidate a woman named Prudence.

The story bogs down with unnecessary focus on the main character's tedious boyfriend drama, their sexual encounters, and family tension. Pippa behaves like a petulant teenager during a spat with her boyfriend and I keep forgetting they are supposed to be in their 30’s.

The author struggles with crafting mysteries, leaving numerous loose ends and irrelevant details while omitting crucial information. The writer boasts no degree or experience in writing so no surprise there. The characters are garbage, why does her chief of police boyfriend become complacent with kidnapping?!

Devon announces at a party that Jonathan killed Wally. You see a good mystery would have had that been the focus but noooo. Prudence is shocked her old lovers had this beef and wanted her for her possible knowledge of gold. The killer hid ashes in the alien statue to try and pin the death on Prudence. What?? Pseudoscience elements like hypnosis are clumsily employed to explain characters' behaviors, and searching for alien sex details is just baffling as a “cure” to it.
And that's it, that's the end. Shame, it had potential. At least the mystery was “solved”.

Audiobook: The actress seems to fumble with the microphone at 10%, and at 38%, there's a cut where a name was missed during recording. The audiobook feels rushed and poorly produced, adding to the overall frustration. Brianna Rogers seems to exclusively narrate for Miss Miller.

Design: The cover misleadingly suggests an award-winning book with a special leaflet design, when it's actually just part of a series. I found this design choice disappointing. Despite that, the cover itself is appealing and drew me in. The summary promises drama, but the audiobook barely reaches 5 hours and feels padded.

[Sabrina Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 of Luckland Mystery Series. The ladies are at it again. Deven and Pip relationship is still growing with up and downs. In this book there was warmth from their relationship, anger from one of the ladies being used by some mean men and still trying to find those boxes. Still on the edge of the seat to see what is happening with the aliens, items keep showing up, and suspicious men. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another winner in the Luckland Mystery series, it had that sequel element that I was looking for. I thought the cozy mystery element worked with the story being told and how everything was uses to tell the story. The characters had that feel that I wanted and was glad I got to read this sequel. MJ Miller wrote this perfectly and left me wanting to read more in this series.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

These ladies do not disappoint each I time I pick up one of these books! I am having such a good time reading all of these. I love how everything intertwines and the history. It's all be such a blast to read!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.