4.25 out of 5 stars
E-book. 108 pages. Published January 18th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
When a serious bout of writer’s block threatens to delay mystery author Drew Daniels’s newest book, his aunt offers her New Orleans apartment in the heart of the French Quarter as a writing retreat. She neglects to mention that it’s occupied by the enigmatic and sexy Finn Murphy, a cemetery tour guide with a penchant for Victorian attire and a Cajun accent.
A body discovered in an open crypt forces reclusive Drew to deal with Finn’s eccentric group of friends and his underlying attraction to the hot Cajun—despite warnings about Finn’s violent past. Drew might write this stuff, but he’s never had to solve a real-life murder. With a deadline looming and a killer on the loose, this retreat is proving to be anything but helpful for Drew’s novel. Drew can only hope he won’t end up a tragic tale for the Ghostly Legends & Lore, Inc. haunted tour.
Likes:
- A lot went on in such a short book.
- Drew and Finn were a cute couple.
- Drew’s struggles with his body and self-esteem.
- How accepting Finn was.
- Aunt Celia’s deception.
- Colorful side characters.
- Lots of New Orleans flair.
Dislikes:
- Not as in-depth as a longer mystery.
- Drew jumped to conclusion a lot.
- Not the most exciting murder mystery I’ve read.
I’m genuinely impressed how good this story was for how relatively short it was. 104 pages isn’t a lot, but it was plenty of time for a fully formed murder mystery, a romance that took its time, and a nice amount of New Orleans history. Sure, it’s not as in-depth as a longer book, but I can’t be mad at that.
Drew was easy to like. All he wanted was a new place to try to beat his writers block, and his Aunt Celia’s ‘forgetfulness’ had him rooming with a hot, sweet, kindhearted guy with an amazing accent. It wasn’t what Drew initially wanted, but it definitely turned out to be what he needed.
Drew has self-esteem issues, and they lead him to jump to the conclusion that Finn couldn’t be interested in him. This happens a lot. And while I definitely understand why Drew would ignore Finn’s signals, I also think Finn could have been a little blunter in his flirting. Or at least that he could have done it in English. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of French knew that Finn liked Drew before Drew did.
The story’s told from Drew’s first person point of view, which worked well with the story and the short length. It added to the tension when Finn went off on his own, as well as making Drew wonder if Finn was the murderer. But, despite never getting to see anything from Finn’s point of view, he was well characterized and easy to like as well. Especially with how easily he accepted all of Drew, even the parts that Drew didn’t like about himself.
The mystery was well written, with all of Finn’s friend group having motive. Drew’s decision to investigate made sense, given how torn up about Roz’s death Finn was. Plus, Drew writes mysteries and his dad is a former law enforcement officer. And while the mystery wasn’t the most exciting thing I’ve ever read, I’m not docking points for that. Given the short length, I’m impressed by how complete the mystery was.
The New Orleans flavor and brief history lesson was a fun addition to the story. I loved that all of Finn’s friend group constantly dressed in alternative styles. They certainly were a colorful cast of characters. The spooky undertone was nice and atmospheric, as was the crow that followed Drew all over the place.
I’m definitely going to have to check out some of Hunter Frost’s other books in the future. I enjoyed the writing style of this book, and am interested to see what Frost can pull off given a full length novel.
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