BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY - A Diet of Death by Jinny Alexander
A Diet of Death
by Jinny Alexander
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
Ballyfortnum Get Slim group--putting the die in diet.
In the close-knit Irish
Village of Ballyfortnum, getting slim might just get you dead. Mystery-lover Jess
O'Malley is distraught when her elderly friend dies, but that's not all--he's
the third of the local slimming group to die this year and it's only February.
Is something amiss in the Get Slim group?
Jess, aided by her
sidekick Fletcher, her boisterous Labrador, must convince local policeman
Marcus that there may be a murderer at large in the village. If she doesn't
solve the mystery, will another of the dieters end up dead? Or worse--if she
doesn't stop asking awkward questions, will Jess become the next victim?
Excerpt:
“What is it that’s worrying you?” Marcus asked, his voice soft and caring.
Jess got up again, reached for the tin of biscuits Linda had pressed into her hands that morning, bus herself with finding plates. She kept her back to Marcus as she voiced her concerns.
“It’s like I started to say the other day,” she eventually said, “it just seems, well … odd.”
“Odd?” Marcus prompted, raising an eyebrow.
“Odd … I mean … all of them in the slimming group … all of them from this small village; all of them dying kind of unexpectedly, I mean … I know Bert was getting on a bit, but eighty isn’t so old these days is it? And Dave was young enough … and poor Angela—she wasn’t much older than me.” Jess clenched her fingers around a piece of shortbread and it crumbled onto the plate, such was her indignance at the thought of someone dying in only their earliest forties. “I know Dave drank, and all that, but …”
A Diet of Death is the first in the Jess O’Malley
Mystery series. In this book we find a Jess O’Malley is distraught after her
elderly friend dies. Interestingly, he is the third member of the local
slimming group to die mysteriously and its only February. Jess, aided by her boisterous
Labrador, Fletcher must convince local policeman Marcus that a murder may be at
large before it’s too late.
This cozy mystery is highly engaging and kept
my interest from start to finish. I was intrigued by the plot and enjoyed how
the author weaved together a variety of red herrings intended to keep the reader
guessing. At one point, I suspect all of them! I also love the relationship
between Jess and her dog, their antics were hilarious as they did their sleuthing.
The cast of characters are hilarious and add well to the plot. The dynamic
between Jess and Marcus had me in stitches as she did everything, she could to make
her point and for him to take her seriously. I’ve not been to Ireland, but I
enjoyed the scenery and the local banter in the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who
loves a good cozy mystery with a cast of entertaining yet suspicious
characters. I look forward to book 2!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jinny was first published in Horse and Pony magazine at the age of ten. She’s striving to achieve equal accolade now she’s (allegedly) a grown up. Jinny has had some publishing success with short story and flash competitions and secured a publishing deal in December 2020 for her first three novels. The first of these, Dear Isobel, was released in March 2022. A Diet of Death is Jinny’s second novel and the first in her Cosy Mystery series. Jinny is currently studying an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Hull, UK.
Jinny also teaches English as a foreign language to people all over the world. Her home for now is in rural Ireland, which she shares with her husband and far too many animals. Her two children have grown and flown, but return across the Irish Sea when they can. She quite likes to shut the door on them all and write.
Website: https://www.jinnyalexander.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CeramicFairy
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JinnyAlexanderAuthor/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Death-Jess-OMalley-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B9KBZV4R
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Jinny Alexander
will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter
during the tour.
What a wonderful review! You've made my day.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for including me on your blog!
Love, Jinny x
This sounds like an interesting book, thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your release of A Diet of Death, Jinny, I enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like a great mystery for me to read! Good luck with your book and the tour! Thanks for sharing it with me!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paws.Read.Repeat, for sharing your review!
Have a terrific day!
The book sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on A Diet of Death, this sounds like a great cozy mystery read
ReplyDelete