WALKING SHADOW: AMATEUR SLEUTH SERIES (EDITH ELLIOTT MYSTERY, BOOK #1) BY JAYNE BAILEY: BOOK REVIEW

cozy

2-star

Walking Shadow

An Edith Elliot Mystery, Book #1

By Jayne Bailey

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Andra

Walking-ShadowSynopsis:

The suicide of Patricia Grayson raises few eyebrows, but when her son believes that his mother was murdered, Edith Elliott’s curiosity gets the better of her. This elderly, amateur sleuth uses all of the skills she learned from her days as a secretary in the Police Force to solve this riddle. But with so many suspects entangled in the dead woman’s life, will this lady detective be able to pick out the murderer?  

Review:

Walking Shadow is a cozy crime short. Edith Elliot overhears a conversation (between James and his wife Louise Carey) while having tea and toast and her sleuthing skills come alive and she feels like she must become involved. James insists that his mother, Patricia Grayson, would not have committed suicide, even though she had left a note. He feels this is totally out of character and Louise is insisting that the note clinches the suicide theory.

“Edith placed the teapot down and stirredc her tea. ‘I don’t think it sounds crazy at all,’ she said aloud, as she took a sip from the delicate china teacup. Edit heard a chair scrape across the floor behind her. She turned and found herself looking at the man who she now knew to be James.”  

Let the sleuthing begin!

Edith does have a background with respect to law enforcement as before retirement, Edith was a secretary for the local police department. While the road to the truth is not straight, it was entertaining. As the story progresses, we find that Patricia is not all that she seems. According to James, Patricia is much too selfish to even have left a suicide note…so with this information….Edith trots off and investigates. There is definitely NOT a shortage of suspects as Patricia had several ex-husbands and lovers….and she was so ego centric that other people’s feelings were never within her consideration.

I quite enjoyed Edith’s interactions with the local constabulary. And a bit of humor was thrown in which added to the enjoyment of this cozy.   This was an easy read (even with the grammatical errors; which drive me nuts). The flow was easy and kept my interest throughout this British cozy mystery.  

*OBS would like to thank NetGalley for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*