Cooking the Books: A Sloane Templeton Mystery [Kindle Edition]

As cozy mysteries go, this one was not disappointing. Author Bonnie Clahoun writes with wit and charm, and a touch of snark. I loved it. The characters presented in Cooking the Books are quirky and a little bit crazy, yet somehow completely believable. The clues and hints are scattered in between some laugh-out-loud scenes that kept me turning the pages.

Kudos to Ms. Calhoun. I am looking forward to the next Sloan Templeton Mystery.

Sloane Templeton wants to be a computer forensics specialist, but instead she finds herself in the role of bookseller when she inherits her mother's bookstore, "Beckham's Books and Brew." Although Sloane doesn't love books the way her mom did, she doesn't want to sell the building, even though she's getting more and more pressure to do just that from Coltraine Realty. In addition to Sloane coping with her mother's death and learning to run the bookstore, there are at least two buyers haggling over a rare book purchased by Sloane's mother before she passed away. Sloane must also deal with her friend and store manager Fifi, who would have loved to have inherited the store, along with more man trouble than anyone should have to deal with.

"Cooking the Books" is an amusing, fast-paced read. It is categorized as Christian fiction and while Sloane does pray and talks about God and her faith, her beliefs are woven into the story naturally, and the author doesn't preach to the reader.

Sloane is unique character and the series has a lot of promise. Where the book is lacking is its focus. There are so many characters introduced in this book (almost 15 in just the first six chapters) and many transitions between several different characters' point of view that I was often confused. There were too many people introduced at once, especially since it's a new series, and you can't tell who is going to play an important role in the book. On top of that, there are so many different things going on, it took me a while to zero in on the main plot and the major characters. All of the various sub-plots didn't seem to converge into one coherent primary storyline, so it became frustrating to keep everything straight.

The book does have many funny lines which helps make up for some of the flaws. While the humor is light-hearted, the book does deal very realistically with a serious subject. The author shows, somewhat graphically, the ugliness of domestic violence, and that part of the book is very well-done. I like that the book ends on a promising note, with Sloane coming to terms with her mother's death, and showing a new confidence and satisfaction with her life. With some paring down of characters and focus on fewer sub-plots, this could be an even more enjoyable series.

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Abingdon Press. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Sloane Templeton has it all - a successful business, a handsome Greek boyfriend and a solid relationship with God. Well, she owns a bookshop but really wants to work in computer forensics. No one except her likes her Greek boyfriend (significant other?), and God seems to be out to lunch some days. Not only has she inherited Beckhams Books & Brews and its offbeat manager from her mother, but she has also acquired a rare book that could be worth a lot of money - if she lives to see it. She is receiving cyber-threats but initially dismisses them as pranks, until the FedEx pack with the dead rat arrives. Then it becomes apparent that someone means to harm her if she doesn't obey - but obey what?

So begins a merry chase featuring two mysterious and valuable books, two violent exes, a bookclub called the Granny Oakleys who don't seem to read any books, and a real estate agent who may or may not be working on the right side of the law. While most of the story is told by Sloane, there are scenes in the third person providing some background information and suspense. Sloane has a distinctive and engaging voice Sloane has a wicked sense of humour, which was one of the best aspects of Cooking the Books. She comments that her ex-husband tried to divorce her by way of the cemetery, her aunt is from the shallow end of the gene pool (love that phrase!) and when her uncle died of food poisoning, the coroner was careful to point out that the food poisoning was not the result of her aunt's cooking (which is apparently legendary, and not in a good way).

While Sloane is spunky, funny and generally likeable, she has poor taste in men and a tendency to try and do things herself rather than asking for help. This is not always wise and is occasionally annoying - independence is not a positive trait when being stalked by a violent ex. Call 911, for goodness sake!

As with many current books there are a series of discussion questions at the end. The fact that Sloane is a flawed character who has made a lot of mistakes means that these are more thought provoking than most. If you are looking for a light-hearted mystery with a cast of slightly suspicious characters (and a handful who are more for comic relief), then you will enjoy Cooking the Books.

Thanks to Abingdon Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.