Title: Death on the Range

Series: Target Practice Mysteries

By: Nikki Haverstock

ISBN: 9781517068561

Author Website: nikkihaverstock(.)com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

When a competitive archer is murdered at the training facility where Di has just started working, she’s thrust into the middle of an unofficial investigation before she can even settle into her new life. With her roommate Mary and a Great Dane named Moo, she begins to unravel the mystery around the death of the victim, but can they solve the case before they find themselves in the killer’s sights? (Goodreads)

Review:

Death on the Range, the first book in the Target Practice Mysteries series, is written by Nikki Haverstock, a new-to-me author. It has all of my prerequisites for a cozy mystery… interesting characters, unique setting (involving archery of all things), a dog (actually I like cats as well but in this instance it is a dog), a whodunit that is not obvious. Essentially, a book to get lost in trying to figure out why and by whom someone was murdered.

With respect to those in the story – you’ve got Diana (but she prefers Di), the main character. Then Jess, Mary, Minx, Tiger, Honey, Owley and Liam. (There may be a paragraph on him. Just you wait, Henry Higgins!) (Also, special shout out to Moo. I adored Moo.) It is a cozy mystery with a one of a kind character – Moo!  A Great Dane who is always around. I get the impression that Moo thinks he is a lap dog, which given how big he is… is rather funny. In all honesty – I think Moo stole the show with respect to this book. 

The dearly departed Honey (okay – not dearly as most everyone seemed to dislike her!), was a bit of a diva throughout the book. She certainly got under my skin. So turns out many people had just cause for wanting Honey out of the picture. So Di and her roommate Mary begin trying to piece together what happened and who had motive, means and opportunity. The journey eventually leads to the whodunit – as is the case in cozy mysteries. I must say I enjoyed the journey. And who knew that archery could be SO competitive (and dangerous for that matter).

I could so relate with Di:

“Some people dealt with pain by going to therapy, processing their feelings, and moving on. I cracked jokes. Sometimes it upsets people when I laughed instead of cried…”

While not an on the edge of your seat kind of story, I did find that I was able to escape to Wyoming (where the story takes place) for a few hours and be entertained by all the shenanigans of Di and crew. The characters had personality that definitely added to the story. 

Will I continue on in this series by Nikki Haverstock – I most certainly will. Because of course I must see what Moo is up to next ☺.