End Me a Tenor (A Glee Club Mystery, #2)

by Joelle Charbonneau

[MurderByDeath]

First, let me say that I have zero interest in show choir, or singing, performing, etc. So I was wary about starting this series and let the first book languish on The Pile for quite some time. I was pleased enough with the story and the characters, as well as the mystery plot, when I finally did pick it up, to buy the next one, End me a Tenor (plus, great title! I love puns!) I found this second effort to be excellent! I'm really enjoying most of the characters and the scenes are written really well and vividly enough to 'see' the story unfold.

As to the murder plot - well it was, IMO just really, really well done! No really clear suspects where any one stood out from the others. No late entries that stood out and become obvious. And a nice surprise reveal at the end. The ending was totally implausible, but it's a cozy mystery - we're not drowning in verisimilitude in this genre. This is a fun, engaging read that entertains from beginning to end.

The only small bits of the story I didn't like were the love triangle, although I can kind of see that resolving itself in the next book - the groundwork was laid for the decision to be made. If I'm right, I'll be quite pleased. And lastly, what's rapidly becoming a pet peeve of mine - having the secondary characters telling the protagonist "you have to figure this out!" "you have to find out who did this!" etc. etc. While at the same time berating her for putting herself in dangerous situations. The whole device is such a cop out and such a massive turn off - at least for me.

But I'll be waiting eagerly for the next book release!