A lighthearted cozy mystery
Murder Ink by Betty Hechtman is the first book in A Writer for Hire Mystery series. This story is told in the first person from Veronica Blackstoneâ��s point-of-view. Veronica had a successful first book, but she is having trouble completing the second book. While waiting for inspiration to hit, Veronica has become a writer for hire as well as a writing coach. She is hired by Evan to write a letter to a co-worker in the hopes of getting him a date. Evan is a nervous man who can use all the help he can get. Veronica also gets hired by Mrs. Parker to create a celebration of life booklet for her recently deceased daughter, Rachel. Veronica is shocked that the vibrant Rachel is dead. She worked with Rachel and her then fianc�©â��, Luke to polish their wedding vows a year ago. There are some unanswered questions regarding Rachelâ��s death and Veronica sets out to fill in the blanks. Murder Ink was easy to read with some quirky characters. I liked the storyline involving Evan. It was humorous. I am not a fan of stories told in the first person and that includes Murder Ink. We get too much of what Veronica thinks as well as repetition of information. I thought the pacing was a little slow. It could have been peppier (it does pick up near the end). The mystery was straightforward, though, I did not feel it was the main focus of the book. Veronica did ask people questions but I felt she missed the mark at times. There was some suspicious activity that made the mystery more interesting. I thought that Veronica got lucky with the solution. I found it easy to sus out the guilty party (might as well have been a neon arrow over the persons head). The mystery wrapped up quickly. If I did not know better, I would think this was the authorâ��s first cozy mystery. I did enjoy the descriptions of Chicago and Veronicaâ��s neighborhood. There were some interesting tidbits about buildings relating back to the Chicago Worlds Fair. I also enjoyed the writerâ��s group and Veronicaâ��s downstairs neighbor. Will I read the next book in A Writer for Hire Mystery series? I believe I will skip it as this series as it is not a good fit for me. Murder Ink is an easygoing cozy mystery with a matchmaking stay-at-home mom, a undefine death, invigorating dance classes, a nervous Nellie, a troublesome television, and a cute cop.
