Mission to Murder (Tourist Trap Mystery, #2)

by Lynn Cahoon

In the California coastal town of South Cove, history is one of its many tourist attractions—until it becomes deadly. . .

Jill Gardner, proprietor of Coffee, Books, and More, has discovered that the old stone wall on her property might be a centuries-old mission worthy of being declared a landmark. But Craig Morgan, the obnoxious owner of South Cove's most popular tourist spot, The Castle, makes it his business to contest her claim. When Morgan is found murdered at The Castle shortly after a heated argument with Jill, even her detective boyfriend has to ask her for an alibi. Jill decides she must find the real murderer to clear her name. But when the killer comes for her, she'll need to jump from historic preservation to self-preservation. . .

"Murder, dirty politics, pirate lore, and a hot police detective: Guidebook to Murder has it all! A cozy lover's dream come true." —Susan McBride, author of The Debutante Dropout Mysteries

• ISBN10: 1601833059
• ISBN13: 9781601833051
• Publish Date: 1 July 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing
• Imprint: eKensington
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 237
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781601833051

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Short review: Great second book in a great series, lots of twists and turns, love the characters and the location. This is shaping up to be a great cozy series.

Long review:
Mission to Murder, the second in the Tourist Trap Mystery series, picks up where the last book left off. Jill is still struggling to establish herself as part of the South Cove community, to have the mission wall certified as a historic landmark, and to have an uninterrupted evening with her boyfriend, Officer Hunky, err, Greg. Aunt Jackie is still serving up great marketing ideas and Coffee, Books and More is a runaway success.

I love this series. The setting is magnificent, true location porn; I can almost smell the ocean breeze all the way over here in the Midwest. It's always gratifying when an unlikable character gets offed; and when local man-you-love-to-hate Craig Morgan gets offed,I almost cheered. The murder part of the plot didn't have a lot of detail; in fact, if the the manner in which Craig died was mentioned, I missed it. Also, what was so interesting about the tox screen?

The battle to certify the mission as historic continues with the mutual dislike Jill shares with the mayor and a growing feud with shady antiques dealer Josh. This aspect is believable, I've heard of battles over historic certification that got pretty underhanded and dirty. It also adds a richness to the story, something more to draw you in as a reader (at least for me, I'm a history buff.)

The characters are warm and easy to relate to, but I feel like some of the characters aren't as developed as they could be (especially BFF Amy). Which is understandable, since it's only the second book of the series and many plot lines haven't developed yet. Amy just feels like a convenient plot device, sometimes and I don't really connect with her. Without having Hank introduced in the story, I didn't care one way or the other how the relationship worked out. I love Esmerelda, it cracks me up how she floats in and out of scenes with her second sight delivering esoteric visions that Jill shrugs off like a mosquito. Listen to the woman!

Great book and every bit as enjoyable as the first. The only thing that would make this book perfect is if once in awhile Jill would hang up her running shoes and spend an evening watching Sherlock with a bag of cheeze doodles and a pitcher of margaritas. Then I won't feel so guilty when I do.

Huge thanks to Kensington Books and NetGallery for the advance copy of the book in return for my honest opinion.