Dying In The Wool (Kate Shackleton Mystery, #1)

by Frances Brody

[celinenyx]

A while ago I read Death of an Avid Reader, the sixth book in the Kate Shackleton series. While I quite enjoyed that one, I never felt the particular need to pick up another in the series.

Last week, I noticed to my alarm that I had almost finished both books I brought with me on a trip. Imagine having to travel without reading material?! As this is obviously distressing, I made my way to the nearest book store immediately. The problem is, I wanted some light reading. And it seems as if the trend nowadays is very serious books. Books with difficult stories and heavy messages and bleak outcomes. Truly, not what I was in the mood for for my eight-hour train ride.

It took me over half an hour to find a suitably "light" book, and finally my eye fell on Dying in the Wool. It's a "cozy" mystery, in which people die but where the killer is always caught and the main characters are safe from harm. The mystery was what I was expecting - our sleuthing leading lady is called in by a friend to find her missing father. It was nice to see how Kate develops from helpful friend to professional private detective, and I find Ms Brody balances modern sentiment and historical attitudes very well. Kate is plucky, independent, and lovely, but her actions aren't anachronistic for the 1920s.

While I enjoyed Dying in the Wool, I did think the book didn't flow all that well during the first half. I'm not sure whether this is Ms Brody's debut novel, but it did read like one at times. Luckily, I already know that her writing much improves over the course of the next few novels. If I ever feel like a cozy mystery again, I'll pick up another Kate Shackleton.