Pies & Poison

Mrs. Pomolo Investigates

De: Donna Muse

Narrado por: Patricia Shade

Tragedy strikes the sleepy town of Wrangler’s Hill, Indiana, when a retired media giant, James Orion, is found dead in his parked car. Immediately, amateur sleuths Geneva and Iris suspect foul play: there are faint skid marks leading to the car as if he were dragged and dumped there.

But who would kill an old man who spent the last ten years of his life in quiet retirement, rarely leaving his house? Lots of people, as it turns out. As Geneva and Iris investigate, they uncover a murderer’s row of erstwhile friends and acquaintances who felt betrayed by Orion and had reason to seek vengeance. For starters, there is the informant’s family Orion recklessly endangered, and the woman he loved and betrayed....

As the investigation races on, Geneva and Iris grapple with a mystery more deadly than any they’ve faced previously. For this time, they must confront someone who has likely killed once and is just desperate enough to do it again....

©2019 Tica House Publishing LLC (P)2020 Tica House Publishing LLC

Simple & Satisfying

This is a gentle story, with little threat of real danger. It certainly fits the cozy category, and it's short and breezy. These days the "old" characters in the story don't seem particularly old. I'd maybe add a decade to them, at least getting them into retirement and collecting Social Security! There's humor and hints of romance and some light foreshadowing of the killer's identity. The story is well-read in the audiobook version, and I really look forward to the next outings of Gen and Iris, and hope for the same narrator, who really had a feel for those characters.

Entertaining, light mystery

Amateur sleuths Iris and Geneva are brought to life by Patricia Shade's narration. She has a perfect cozy mystery voice - smooth, friendly, with just enough wry humor to keep it interesting. She sidesteps the singsong just “reading the book” style that is so prevalent...but also isn't over-the-top theatrical, which can be annoying. I appreciated the light-hearted tone of the book and the friendship of the two ladies. I can’t say cozy mysteries generally are my thing (mostly I listen to science fiction) but I will look for more of Shade's work and hope she does more Mrs. Pomolo books.