MurderByDeath
I'm a little annoyed that I read this book; if I'd waited a week or two, I could have used it for the upcoming Halloween Bingo; it's a perfect fit for the "Monsters" square. But I didn't know that when I began the book, though I probably should have suspected.
This series dances on the thin edge between normal cozy mystery and paranormal. It's always maybe this or that happened, and always plausible through other explanations.
I should have enjoyed The Loch Ness Papers more than I did; I generally enjoy the author's writing, and I love the Loch Ness theme. But either the writing or my attention was too scattered to really get lost in the mystery. I suspect a bit of both; my attention could have been more focused, but the disparate clues were too disparate, and made a connection between the mysteries obvious. The sympathy Shelton hoped to garner for certain characters fell flat and she tried to involve too many people as possible suspects, making it impossible to keep them all as active participants in the mystery. And on top of it all, Delaney's family is in town for her wedding. The result was a scattered story that felt chaotic and I suspect even if I was totally focused on the story, it would still be scattered and chaotic.