annieb123
Written on Nov 25, 2019
Death in Trout Fork is the first mystery in a new series by D.M. O'Byrne. Released 13th Oct 2018 by Black Opal Books, it's 210 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.
This is a cozy murder mystery with a travel reporter as amateur sleuth (+ her cat). The story is set in a small Colorado town populated with interesting eccentrics with lots of seething tensions and connections under the surface. The author was quite adept at getting into the story without info-dumping all of the backstories in one go. The technical aspects of the story are very well handled and the plot, tension, dialogue, setting, and structure are competently presented and I never found myself being yanked out of my suspension of disbelief by clunky writing.
There is some moderate language (PG rated) and kidnapping and torture of a minor. There is also some familial abuse and self-harm in the book which could be potentially triggering. Lovers of the cozy mystery genre will be happy to note that the requisite hunky policeman love interest is included in the book.
Four stars. Well written and entertaining. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next couple of books in the series which are already published.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.