No Saving Throw (Ten Again Mystery)

by Kristin McFarland

A supremely geeky murder mystery perfect for Whovians, gamers, and Muggles alike.



"A cozy shop, a tricky murder, geek humor, and gaming lore galore—what’s not to love in No Saving Throw? This book is a winner, and I can’t wait to take another turn!" –Leigh Perry, author of The Family Skeleton Mysteries



"Enjoyable debut....Readers will hope to see a lot more of the plucky Autumn." –Publisher's Weekly



Autumn has everything she could possibly want: Loving friends, a successful business, and a gaggle of gamers in her store every day.



Welcome to Ten Again, a tabletop gaming store that attracts nerds of every kind and fosters a community Autumn’s pretty proud of—a community that also keeps business afloat. And now that Autumn's in the running for a grant, Ten Again’s future is looking bright.



That is, until one of Autumn’s gamers is mysteriously murdered. With everyone in the mall as a suspect and accusations flying, Autumn is going to have to do some sleuthing of her own to save her shop and her gamers from a fate more dangerous than having no saving throw.



“A nat 20! No Saving Throw is a fun, tight mystery that perfectly encapsulates the difficulties gamers face at being taken seriously. Protagonist Autumn Sinclair will stop at nothing to save not only her store, but also the geeky community it fosters.” —Alex Erickson, author of the Bookstore Café Mysteries

• ISBN10: 163576582X
• ISBN13: 9781635765823
• Publish Date: 30 May 2019 (first published 14 May 2019)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 27 January 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Diversion Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

No Saving Throw is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Kristin McFarland. Released 19th May 2019 by Diversion books, it's 266 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

The setup is similar to a bunch of other lovely cozy mystery series. The protagonist is the owner of a specialty niche retail shop, dealing with the stress of making rent, applying for grants, keeping the staff and customers in order and generally living the hectic life of a small retail owner. The difference here is that the shop isn't selling scones or knitting yarn, but dice, cards, books and gaming paraphernalia.

The main character is likable, female, intelligent and didn't rush headlong into situations which made me slap my forehead and groan. The book is well paced and I didn't find my interest waning at all. It's about average length but the action moves the plot along. The author has a deft touch with characterizations but possibly falls a little short in the 'show don't tell' writing department. There's quite a lot of description instead of dialogue and character driven plot progress. It doesn't detract much from the enjoyment of the book and I can think of more than a few authors who took at least a couple books to hit their stride.

I love it that this series is about gamers, geekery, and 'my' nerdy folks! I do also love knitting and B&B and library type cozies (bonus points for cats), but it's very refreshing to see a cozy series which isn't from the same cookie cutter. I'm looking forward to the next installments!

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.