I liked this - it was a good little holiday read. It was well constructed. Good characters, easy language. In fact if I had one criticism it would be that it wasn't really descriptive. There could have been more vivid language in some places as it often read like a screen play rather than an evolving novel. This did make it simple reading for the christmas break. No surprises was nice and safe reading.

The main character felt a bit spoilt in parts - a lot of "all about me". I only really liked Babe her older friend who seemed a lot more original than a number of the subcharacters. The husband was pretty two dimensional which was a shame.

Overall I liked the story but I won't be rushing out to read anything more about these characters (or town). ( )

Laura is new to suburbia, bored she doesn’t know exactly what being neighborly includes. Her first act is to sign up with her neighbor Babe and joins the neighborhood watch.

Babe talks Laura into going next door neighbor Candace’s to see if she is okay as her lawn hasn’t been taken care of and her storm door is banging open, They find Candace dead on the couch her hand in a bag of pork rinds. As part of the neighborhood watch they begin snooping into Candace's murder.

The plot is set as a mystery but it also allows the author to make points about self-confidence and personal relationships. I would have preferred just the mystery. ( )

A CUTE COZY MYSTERY

This story got off to a slow start for me, but I am glad that I decided to continue reading.

Laura and her husband, Kent, moved to the small town of Boring, Indiana looking for a new
start. She takes a walk with her neighbor, Babe, and Babe decides they should go check on Candace – a neighbor they have not seen in two days. They enter the house and find that Candace dead.

Thus begins Laura’s investigation of who killed Candace. I was pretty sure that I knew, but clues kept popping up to keep the reader off balance and still guessing who committed the crime.

Few of the characters are fully fleshed out, but I still enjoyed it. If you are looking for a light and fun story with Christian undertones, this book will keep you reading.
( )

Title: Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife
Author: Christy Barritt
Pages: 288
Year: 2012
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
My rating is 5 stars.
Christy Barritt wove a murder mystery in a small town called Boring in Indiana with some pretty interesting if not funny characters. The main characters are a married couple Kent and Laura Berry who moved to a small town in order to see Kent’s dream of owning a pharmacy become a reality. Laura originally worked for a PR firm in Chicago, but left under less than stellar reasons. Now Laura is going through culture shock! Not only is she trying to get used to being a housewife, but she has to contend with the slower paced lifestyle.
One of the neighbors who quickly befriends her is a senior lady named Babe who doesn’t act or talk her age; she is really the comic relief in the novel. Babe has some oddities or sayings that will just make you laugh as you read the book; I sure had some good laughs. Babe is the lady who pushes Laura to do things she never imagined doing like becoming an amateur sleuth when they both discover a neighbor in her house dead on her couch, hence the title of the book.
Laura most of the time along with Babe interacts with curious neighbors who are anything but “normal”. Each time I would read how Laura would describe a neighbor or deduce what they might be doing then find out the truth was a lot of fun! On top of this, Laura really is wondering about the state of her marriage, what her husband is up to and the neighborhood’s association president who tends to drive everybody crazy.
However, there is a killer on the loose and Laura is quickly running out of suspects! Wait to read about what happens on the night of the Super Bowl! Read and enjoy the novel as it sure was great to laugh and watch how quirky neighbors might just end up good friends!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )

2.5* I would have given this 3 stars but there were a few things that bothered me.

First off, I was confused by how old the protagonist Laura Berry was -- she starts off by saying her 70-year-old friend Babe was about 3 times her age; okay, I'm a math geek so I figure 70 ÷ 3 = ~23. On the young side to be a suburban housewife but possible. A chapter or so later though, we are told she met her husband when a sophomore in college and she has been married for 6 years; later we are told they dated for 2 years before marrying. Either she is supersmart & went to college at 13-14 years old or she is NOT 1/3 of 70. I know that this isn't really important but it distracted me from the story trying to figure it all out.

Then there were the names -- Tiara, Darius, Chief Romeo, Gia, Steele, Babe etc. They just sound phony to me... Although I did like the fact that Laura lived on the Dullington Estates in Boring, Indiana!

Next was the repeated discussion about mowing lawns in winter -- does the author not know that winter is from the end of December to the end of March? Who mows in Indiana or any of the northern US then?? Even if the ground is free of snow, the plants are not growing.

Lastly, the religious aspects of Laura's life were a bit much for me. This one was just a minor issue but it came up more and more as the book went on & I would have some concerns about this in future books in the series.

On the plus side, I liked the protagonist & the setting. The writing was decent and the mystery kept me guessing. I would try another one from the library but I wouldn't pay for it. ( )