Murder Pays a Call

Keri Armstrong Mysteries, Book #1

By Nancy J. Cohen     

ISBN:  9781952886362 

Website: nancyjcohen.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

When personal concierge Keri Armstrong swings by her favorite client’s mansion to drop off groceries, she expects a heartfelt chat along with a cup of tea—not Fiona Sullivan dead in bed and her room ransacked. Though police chalk it up to a botched robbery, Keri isn’t so sure. Whispers around town suggest Fiona wasn’t as adored as Keri had believed, and many of the philanthropist’s so-called friends in affluent Sunny Grove, Florida seem glad she’s gone.

Keri refuses to let Fiona’s memory be reduced to malicious gossip. Armed with a keen eye, insider access, and a fully charged tablet, she sets out to uncover the truth. Soon her file of suspects grows faster than her to-do list. Between sneaky neighbors, resentful relatives, and tight-lipped charity board members, Fiona left behind a trail of frenemies who’d happily skip her memorial brunch.

As Keri digs deeper, she discovers her late mentor had a gift for extracting people’s secrets and using them like fine china—carefully storing them until they could serve a purpose. But Fiona also kept a few skeletons in her own walk-in closet. Now, with danger creeping closer, Keri must race to crack the case before her number comes up next… and Murder Pays a Call. (Goodreads)

Review:

What a wonderful start to a new series. Murder Pays a Call is the first book in the Keri Armstrong Mysteries series.  I have read three books in Ms. Cohen’s Bad Hair Day series and I must say – I really enjoyed this new book and series (hopefully it will continue for awhile). I suspect at least in part it is that I am starting the series from book one 🙂

Keryn (Keri) Armstrong runs a personal concierge agency in Sunny Grove, Florida, with a large number of clientele. I believe this occupation of Keri’s will definitely lend itself to her being in many people’s lives and privy to loads and loads of information, which should bode well for an amateur sleuth 🙂

Fiona Sullivan is a favourite client of Keri’s. Fiona is a top influencer, mentor, and a dear friend.  Unfortunately, she is found dead when Keri drops by with Fiona’s groceries. This has definitely thrown Keri off. The police figure it is a robbery gone wrong, but Keri does not. So with her access to people, their homes, and the fact that people talk around her (after all – as the ‘hired help’, Keri is “invisible”). So Keri sets out to listen and learn about Fiona. While Keri idolized Fiona, this is not so in Fiona’s world – in fact – there are many people who were definitely not a fan of Fiona! As Keri works through her potential suspect list, names are added as well as taken off. Here is hoping Keri can figure out ‘whodunit’ before the suspect puts Keri in their crosshairs!

Having read many cozy mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised to read that the main protagonist ran a personal concierge agency – certainly a departure from the cozies I have been reading. That definitely added a new element and kept this formulaic genre a wee bit fresher and interesting 🙂

There are numerous characters in this book that brought hutzpah to the storyline – especially Purdy. Purdy is a bit sassy (in a good way) with Keri, and this is surprising since Keri is his boss. But I quite enjoyed the banter between the two. And when Keri needed emotional support after discovering Fiona’s body – Purdy was there.

Murder Pays a Call kept me captivated throughout, and I was pretty well in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ until the end, given the sufficient number of suspects and twists and turns throughout the book – just the way I like my cozy mysteries.

An auspicious beginning to a new series, and I can’t wait to continue the journey with Keri. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, then Murder Pays a Call should be added to your reading pile for future fun and enjoyment.