The Way of the Wicked
A Hope Street Church Mystery #2
By Ellery Adams
ISBN# 9781940846323
Author’s Website: http://elleryadamsmysteries.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
Welcome to Hope Street Church, where friendships are formed, fresh starts are encouraged, and mysteries are solved.
Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group have just volunteered for a local charity, delivering much-needed food and cheer to shut-ins in their community. It seems like the perfect way for the group to do good, and to Cooper it offers the welcome opportunity to get out of the house and spend more time with her new boyfriend, Nathan. But when one of the charity’s recipients is murdered, the police have no choice but to single out the church group and their fellow volunteers as the prime suspects.
Determined to make sure no evil deed goes unpunished, Cooper and her friends decide to discreetly interrogate each volunteer in their search for the killer, even if it means putting themselves at risk in the process. And as serving the needy becomes more treacherous than any of them could have imagined, they just might discover that the road to murder is paved with good intentions.
Review:
This is the first book I have read by Ellery Adams. An enjoyable cozy mystery.
The premise is that the members of a Church study group want to help find out who is killing the seniors that they are delivering premade meals to? I must say, the religious aspect of the book was understated, so would not make any reader uncomfortable. Just a group of like-minded people helping the community and wanting to help the local constabulary.
Cooper is the lead, if you will, of the Hope Street Bible Study group with respect to mystery solving. She seems like a reserved woman, a bit on the shy side when it comes to guys. She has a new boyfriend, Nathan, who is also a member of the bible study group. This additional sleuthing will afford more time with the new beau… 🙂 But, Cooper quickly realizes that not everyone handles stress well. Unfortunately, as a new business relationship between Nathan and a new client quickly deteriorates, he takes his frustrations out on Cooper. Not the best way to begin a relationship. The Nathan and Cooper journey is fraught with ups and downs, but it is a sweet journey and …… (you will have to read the book to get further information :))
I love how Cooper is just an ordinary gal…..
”Only months ago, Cooper would have laughed if someone had told her that she’d gladly part with some of her hard-earned money in exchange for a beauty treatment for her feet. However, once initiated into the world of pedicures, she soon became a bit of a junkie. She now had a pedicure twice a month and had purchased several pairs of sandals to show off her neatly polished toes.”
Cooper works as a copier repair person for Make It Work! The company certainly has some unique and interesting characters….Angela is the office manager and would like the owner Mr. Farmer take notice of her! And of course, Mr. Farmer (a Danny Devito kind of guy) is just too shy to take action, though he would like Angela to notice him as well. And to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, Mr. Farmer hires a young, buff relative name Emilio (who is the consummate playboy…or thinks he is). The interactions between the four of them provide much entertainment. Some comical events occur but everything works out as it should (?).
One thing which was a bit distracting was that the crime solving group was in fact that…a group of people – Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group. At times it was a bit confusing when they were pairing the crime solving group with the potential suspects. The actual sleuthing part of the story seemed a bit chaotic.
But I must say overall, the read was entertaining. The characters were sweet, the mystery of who dunnit carried on until the end, so in my books that makes this book a good cozy mystery.
