Handbook for Homicide: 12/09/20

Handbook for Homicide by Lorna Barrett and Cassandra Campbell (narrator) is the 14th Booktown Mystery and a book I've been waiting all summer and most of fall to read as the audiobook version released later than the print and ebook editions. Tricia Miles and Marshall Campbell have just returned from a so-so tour of Ireland. They arrive to the news of a break-in at Haven't Got a Clue and the discovery of a dead homeless woman in the Dumpster behind the store.

While there is no chance Tricia could have had anything to do with the woman's death, Pixie, her long time assistant is a person of interest. She was also friends with the the dead woman.

On the home front, Tricia's sister has had surgery and isn't as mobile as she normally is, meaning any investigating she helps in will need accommodations. Also, Tricia's niece and former employee is stressed out by her work, home, and parenting obligations.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery here, even though I figured it out at about the halfway point. I didn't mind Tricia's investigations in the wrong direction because it did still help find Susan's next of kin, as well as one of her homeless encampment friends. This series is unique among the ones I follow in that it does include discussions of homelessness, mental health, and other societal problems that most cozies ignore.

Book fifteen, A Deadly Deletion is scheduled for release in July, 2021.

Five stars

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