Deadly Ride
A Britton Bay Mystery
By Jody Holford
ISBN#9781516108718
http://www.jodyholfordauthor.com/
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele
Synopsis:
As editor-in-chief of the Britton Bay Bulletin, Molly steps in for a sick reporter to cover the Classic Car Crawl, an exhibit of vintage automobiles. Her main challenge is not being driven to distraction by the presence of her hunky boyfriend, Sam Alderich, a fellow car enthusiast whose auto shop is sponsoring the event. But when she and Sam discover the co-founder dead in his car, Molly quickly shifts gears to solve the murder.
With a showroom full of suspects—including the co-founder’s longtime partner, much-younger wife, enigmatic ex, and car owners with grudges and grievances—Molly soon starts to feel like she’s spinning her wheels. And after things take a turn for the worse, it’s all she can do to steer clear of trouble and stay out of a killer’s clutches . . . (Goodreads)
Review:
In Deadly Ride, the third book in the entertaining Britton Bay mystery series, newspaper editor Molly once again puts on her investigative reporter’s cap to solve a murder. Heavy on the romance with likable characters and a cozy coastal setting, it is light, diverting reading.
Britton Bay is abuzz with excitement for the Classic Car Crawl sponsored by Molly’s boyfriend Sam’s auto shop. When one of her reporters falls ill, Molly steps in to cover the show. Unfortunately, the celebration is dampened when one of the Crawl’s co-owners is found dead in one of the classic cars. Odious as Jet was in life, no one deserves his end so Molly cannot help but try to uncover the killer’s identity.
There are plenty of suspects to consider, and author Holford does a good job giving everyone a plausible motive. The suspects are varied and include the Crawl’s other co-founder and best friend, the recently discarded ex-wife, the much younger new wife, another journalist, and more than one of the fellow car owners. Clues and red herrings abound and kept me guessing until the end. I did suspect the killer’s identity only to dismiss him/her so I was surprised at how it all unfolded. The mystery is quite interesting, and the classic car tidbits fun, but I did have a hard time feeling bad for Jet. He is so, so unsavory.
As much as I enjoy the recurring characters (I adore Sam’s mother) and the mystery, the story relies heavily on the progressing romance between Molly and Sam, and it is a bit too much for my taste. So many mentions of the couple holding hands, gazing at each other, etc. made my eyes glaze after a while.
Overall, Deadly Ride is a fun, cozy mystery.
