No Small Murder: A Mini-Meadows Mystery
by Lena Gregory
About No Small Murder
No Small Murder: A Mini-Meadows Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Florida
Level Best Books (February 21, 2023)
Number of Pages 215
Digital ASIN : B0BHX5L1J4
Mini Meadows, a Tiny Home community in rural Central Florida, is home to Emma Wells, a downsize specialist who left her daddy’s mansion and her inheritance behind in favor of a simpler, more peaceful life in a tiny home that was once two shipping containers. But when she opens a shipping container and discovers her dead client sitting in a rocking chair, neatly wrapped and labeled, and two of her friends end up on the suspect list, Emma pitches in to help find the killer. With plenty of clues to unpack, Emma narrows down the suspect list, but as she begins to close in on the culprit, she realizes if she’s not careful she could end up in a box of her own.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Tiny houses are all the rage these days and a small town in Central Florida is embracing the concept mightily. Mini Meadows is a Tiny Home community with new residents and businesses flocking to the town at a rapid pace. Emma Wells had a major disagreement with her father and she left his mansion and money behind for a tiny home in Mini-Meadows. She has also become a downsizing specialist to help people make the transition from their large houses of several thousand square feet to smaller or tiny homes in the 500 square feet range.
Her client, Mr. Aldridge was having his train-inspired mini home placed in Mini Meadows and his and his wife’s belonging delivered. Mr. Aldridge has been a difficult person to work with so Emma is anxious for his move to go smoothly. When she arrives to help unload his furnishings from the trailer she sees something strange in a rocking chair wrapped in plastic. As she gets closer she sees the new homeowner’s face. Broderick Aldridge no longer needed his unique tiny house and she needed to call the police.
Surprised to learn two of her friends are on the suspect list Emma decides to do a little investigating of her own. But if she’s not careful she could be moving to a much smaller tiny home six feet underground.
Oh, I love the theme of this new cozy series! There have been many times I thought I could be happy in a tiny house. Then my family points out all the stuff I have that I just can’t part with, like my books, LOL.
Ms. Gregory introduces some dynamic characters in this series’ debut. Emma Wells’ father disinherited her so she moved out of his huge home into her tiny one and has been quite happy. I love her energy and positive attitude. Her Granny Rose was also living with her father and missed Emma greatly after she moved out. She gave her son an ultimatum and moved out. She has now moved into Emma’s tiny house too. It is a bit cramped but Emma had missed her Granny Rose as well so vowed to make it work. Granny Rose is not your typical granny. She drives a shiny red corvette and is embracing a whole new self. Wearing frayed jeans, camisoles, high-top sneakers, gold chains, and earrings, she shocks Emma. This is not the grandma she grew up with. Granny also grabs the attention of the elderly gentleman that just moved in across the street from Emma. Oh my gosh, she is a delight and a spitfire and so much fun. Emma has two close girlfriends, Jade and Chloe. Chloe runs Pocket Books and Jade owns Little Bits Consignment and Thrift Shop. We also meet Libby who owns the local diner. All great places to hear local gossip. I can’t forget that Emma has an orange tabby named Ginger and it isn’t long before a Great Dane named Butch joins the family. All these characters are nicely crafted and continue to evolve over the course of the story.
There was something off about the deceased Broderick Aldridge from the start so there were clearly a couple of suspects right away but as the story continued several more were added to the list. With the many twists and turns it was almost impossible to eliminate any of them. I loved following along with Emma as she tried to unpack each clue and make it fit into the puzzle before her. The murderer was on my list but I was really iffy about the motive. An epic final twist revealed all and set up a very dramatic ending.
No Small Murder was a wonderfully entertaining read. A fresh theme, fun characters, and a rousing mystery have set this series off to a fantastic start. I am excited for this series to continue. We have just scratched the surface of what I hope will be a long-running series.
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About Lena Gregory
Lena Gregory grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of Central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
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Purchase Links – Amazon
Also by Lena Gregory
Great Escape Praise for No Small Murder by Lena Gregory
Great characters and an intriguing mystery make NO SMALL MURDER a delightful start to a new series.
~Cozy Up With Kathy
The characters are well-rounded and well-developed. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted cozy mystery. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
~ MJB Reviewers
I am a huge fan of pretty much anything Lena Gregory writes. So I was more than eager to get my hands on the start of a new series. The setting is absolutely adorable! A “Tiny House Community” is a great choice for cozy fans.
~Books a Plenty Book Reviews
What a fun setting for this new cozy series, a tiny home community. I love looking at tiny homes; just not 100% sure I could live in one. If I did, I would need someone like Emma to help me downsize my current home to a new one. I think this is going to be a fun new series, and I look forward to upcoming books.
~Story Book Reviews
No Small Murder is a great book. The story grabbed my attention and kept me engaged. The story was fun, exciting, suspenseful, and full of twists and turns. Fun characters with a fantastic whodunit made this cozy mystery top-notch. It checked all my cozy boxes!
~Sapphyria’s Books
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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.”
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has given this series a fine start. Writing the first book in a cozy mystery series is hard. You have to introduce all the characters and make them characters readers what to know better while wrapping them in a mystery that will those pages turning. I think the author did a great job. I do want to know more about Greta and the residents of Larkspur. I am intrigued to see what she has in store for her characters next.
is her debut cozy mystery.
