Review - The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco

The author of the Swift Investigations, the Ballroom Dance mystery series, and Mall Cop mystery series is writing a new mystery series. Here is my take on this debut novel. 

Author: Laura DiSilverio

Copyright: April 2015 (NAL) 336 pgs

Series: 1st in Cook Club Mystery series

Sensuality: all mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy

Main Characters: Amy Faye Johnson, Event Planner 

Setting: Modern day, Small fictional town (less than ten thousand people) of Heaven Colorado

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Amy Faye, a Southern name for a gal who lives in Colorado, amazes her friends when she agrees to plan the wedding for her ex-boyfriend.  Granted, she had talked to the bride without realizing who the groom would be.  As if that weren't enough, a fellow Readaholic bookclub member-Ivy Donner, dies suddenly and the police declare it suicide ala poison.  That has Amy Faye determined to get to the truth, because she can't accept Ivy took her own life.  

AFaye discovers Ivy had some secrets of her own, but she also had uncovered some corruption in city government and had contacted a reporter to expose it.  Either her little secret or her knowledge might have gotten her killed.  The killer liked the suicide ruling hiding his deed and begins to make AFaye's life difficult...and dangerous.

Amy Faye, 32-year-old native small town gal who has had the same on-again-off-again boyfriend since high school is blind-sided to find out he is getting married. This book shows how loyal a friend she is ultimately.  The standard cop-romantic interest is filled by Detective Lindell Hart  from Georgia.  Al Frink is AFaye's very capable assistant.  The Readaholic members: Brooke Widefield is a former Miss Colorado married into a wealthy family, Lola Paget went to Texas A&M for her degree in Chemistry but returned to save the family farm that she made a successful plant nursery, Maud Bell is sixty-six years old and a conspiracy theorist, and Kerry Sanderson is the Mayor and a successful realtor.

The town of Heaven was previously named Walter's Ford, but they changed the name to Heaven in hopes of cashing in on the wedding business. Mostly town scenes involved.  The plot is okay with Ivy's big secret and her knowledge of corruption that could have made a several people want to kill her.  

There were a few times when the pace slowed a bit, but it wasn't long before it picked back up.  Amy Faye realizes who the killer is about the time she is in serious danger, so there are a few tense moments when the killer is revealed.  The wrap-up felt a bit incomplete for me.  I wanted to know the fallout from the evidence AFaye found that exposed the corruption (who all was involved and did the other people have to answer for their involvement?)  Without this loose-end addressed I felt like the story wasn't quite finished.

Each novel in the series will have the Readaholics book club reading a different classic mystery that somehow plays into the murder they're solving.  A little extra clue of sorts.  This time it was The Maltese Falcon which supplied the "Falcon Fiasco" part of the title.

Rating: Good - A fun read from an accomplished author.