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Thank you Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing for an advance copy of Murder Out of Character by Olivia Matthews.
Marvey, still adjusting to life in Peach Coast, Georgia, is at a library fundraising event when she comes across a list of four names. One is the name of someone who recently died—and who may have been murdered. Another is Spencer Holt, the handsome newspaper owner who’s become one of Marvey’s best friends.
The four people appear to have nothing in common other than living in Peach Coast. Spencer dismisses the list at first, but before long, he has to admit he may be in danger. As Marvey prepares for a visit from her parents, can she, Spencer, and their intrepid librarian friends stop a killer bent on long overdue revenge?
This is the second book in the Peach Coast Library Mysteries series although I did not read the first one, I was able to read this book without complaints since the mystery is contained to this book. Murder Out of Character is a cozy mystery which is my favorite genre in mystery. The mystery kept me guessing. I didn’t figure it out until later in the book which is a big plus for me. I hate solving the murder before the main character.
While Murder Out of Character had all the hallmarks of a cozy (amateur sleuths solving a mystery), I felt that the characters were not as developed as most cozy mystery characters. There were also a lot of characters to follow and due to the lack of development I had certain characters confused. This may have been because I have not read the first book or it may be that there were too many librarians without distinct characteristics to keep it clear.
Marvey was a strong female lead. I enjoyed her life on Peach Coast, Georgia and look forward to see what happens with her relationship with her friends there.
Marvey’s supporting casts were as I mentioned a bit complicated. I liked that they worked at a library but I would like to know more about each character aside from their looks. Marvey’s parents were my least favorite characters in the books. I get that they were nervous about their adult daughter moving across the country to a new job, but subscribing to the newspaper so they could keep tabs on the town seemed a bit much. Her parents while quirky irritated me.
The descriptions of Peach Coast, Georgia made me want to visit the small town and reminded me of Georgia coastal towns I had visited before.
Overall, the book was a fun cozy mystery. I wish the characters had a bit more development. I will likely read book one to see if these issues were fixed in book one and may be fixed when Murder Out of Character is published in September.
I never comment on grammatical errors in a book. I know that no one is perfect and even big publishing companies have errors. While this book is an advanced copy that is not ready for publication, there were multiple errors throughout the book which made it challenging to read. I am sure Hallmark Publishing will have those errors fixed before publication.
Have you read Murder Out of Character? If not, get your preorders for digital and paperback on September 13th.
The Spinny Bookworm Mama 