A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery
by Valerie Taylor
About A Whale of a Murder
A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Chatham Crossing — a fictional whaling town situated between Providence and Cape Cod
Publisher : Aspetuck Publishing (April 23, 2024)
Paperback : 358 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8986599526
Digital ASIN : B0CW1L6DC1
First in the Venus Bixby Mystery series from award-winning author Valerie Taylor.
Sea breezes and fireworks fill the air in cozy Chatham Crossing, the peaceful and historic whaling town situated between Providence and Cape Cod.
Venus Bixby, owner of the forever popular music store Oldies & Goodies, is counting on the festivities over the Fourth of July weekend to propel her to a position on the prestigious Town Committee.
After years of living in the shadow of her late husband, Venus will finally be the center of attention this holiday weekend: starting with her fiftieth birthday celebration and ending as the parade’s Grand Marshal.
Faster than a cookie crumbles, her dream collapses on the morning of her party when she trips over orange platform shoes in the gardens of the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum and breaks her thumb. When it’s discovered the shoes are attached to the body of the manager of the museum’s gift shop, Venus becomes both a suspect and a sleuth in Chatham Crossing’s first murder in decades.
Given this unexpected turn of events, will Venus ever sing and dance at her birthday party, or will her fractured thumb end up in handcuffs?
Includes cookie recipes and playlist!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Venus Bixby owns Oldies & Goodies, a music store and bakery popular with tourists. She has big plans for the 4th of July weekend beginning with a celebration of her 50th birthday in the gardens at the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum. Then she will be the Grand Marshall in the parade. Now that her husband has passed away it is her turn to shine. She has her sights set on a seat on the prestigious Town Committee.
But when Venus arrives at the museum to check out the setup for her birthday party she stumbles over a pair of orange platform heels. The shoes are attached to the manager of the museum’s gift shop and she has clocked her last day of working there. Venus broke her thumb in the fall but after getting it taken care of she learns she is a suspect in the woman’s murder. That is not good at all. It could destroy all her plans. She is going to have to sleuth out the real killer before she finds herself singing and dancing all the way to a jail cell.
As the first book in the series, the author has a big job of introducing the setting, prominent places, her characters, and their relationships while unfolding an intriguing mystery. She used the first few chapters to do that which made for a clunky start. I think spreading this out more would have improved the flow at the beginning. The pacing was better as the story continued and the investigation got rolling.
The characters are an eclectic group. I enjoyed meeting Venus but it took me a few chapters to warm up to her. I think you would call her relationships with every person in her life as complicated. She knows what she wants and she is going to get it and she can be brusque. But so can her “best friend” Carole who has her own agenda. Chatham Crossing has its share of quirky residents. Several try to come together to do good things but there always seems to be a competitive undercurrent between them. That makes them interesting but not the type that gives off the cozy mystery feels.
Two characters jumped right into my heart. Sonny and Cher, two yellow tabbies Venus adopted to “guard” Oldies & Goodies from “Mickies and Minnies” found in old historic buildings. They are the store’s mascots and get attention from the customers young and old.
The mystery is complex with many moving parts and suspects. Venus didn’t know who she could trust with people close to her on her suspect list. She did share her findings with Detective Donovan, but he didn’t usually reciprocate. Venus working with her sister on the Sisters’ List of Suspects was very entertaining. They came up with some interesting theories. I liked the articles from The Chatham Crossing Chronicle interspersed throughout the story to share some details and put forth questions that moved the story forward. The way the reveal was set up was great and it led to a very satisfying conclusion.
The music store theme was fun and I appreciated the playlist at the end of the story. Even better you can find the A Whale of a Murder playlist on Spotify. There are also 12 recipes at the back of the book for cookies, bars, and bread.
A Whale of a Murder is a lighthearted mystery with curious characters. Now that we have met so many residents of Chatham Crossing I am intrigued to see what Ms. Taylor has planned for them next.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.
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About Valerie Taylor
Valerie Taylor tried to retire in 2016. But life had other ideas. After enjoying some of the best years of her life in Boston and Seattle, she moved back home to Connecticut and embarked on a second career as an author. Her first romantic comedy trilogy What’s Not Said, What’s Not True, and What’s Not Lost won multiple awards. Encouraged by her readers, she created a new cozy mystery series, spinning one of the secondary characters in What’s Not LOST into the role of amateur sleuth in A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery. When she’s not writing or reading, Valerie enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator.
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Also written by Valerie Taylor
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”
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