Nancy Lynn Jarvis

The first few pages of the book tell the reader everything they need to know about Pat Pirard. She is smart, in brains, and looks. Plucky, with a burst of color and a leopard print briefcase. When she is “downsized” from law librarian research job on her 35th birthday she could have wallowed in self-pity, but instead, she allows her well-meaning, but slightly unaware best friend Syda to maneuver her into a last-minute glass-forming class. Then when the opportunity to put her talents and skills to work for her in a new direction comes along, Pat jumps on board with both feet all the while staying true to herself.

Along with a snappy whodunnit, there is a bit of mystery over which love interest will charm Pat as she finds herself pondering the merits of sexy lawyer Mark Bellows and self-assured officer Tim Lindsey. The murder victim is a beautifully written over the top diva artist that you just can’t quite feel sorry for when he drops dead. There are plenty of suspects with plenty of motives and of course not everyone is being totally honest. While I figured out the bad guy fairly early on, I was totally wrong about the why and how and I am okay with that. Readers from the Santa Cruz area will enjoy the amount of local color dripped throughout the pages of the book. I do think this was a nice introduction of a new series though I assume Pat’s private eyeing will be put to the test at some point later on when her lack of license and training becomes an issue. A knack for legal research and a business card will only go so far. This is a series that I am looking forward to continuing.… (plus d'informations)

All I needed to know about Pat, I learned in the first few pages of book 1 in this series. I am glad to see that not much has changed. She still uses her superpower deductive skills, and she still carries the leopard print briefcase, though, for a few moments in this installment of the series, I almost mourned the iconic fashion statement.

In The Corpse’s Secret Life, Pat, who is still recovering from her injury from her last case has been tasked with finding out the identity of a jane doe so that the coroner can put her case to rest. It doesn’t take Pat long to realize she has more on her hands than a simple death. The woman was most likely murdered and Pat seems to have stumbled on to the murderer in the course of her investigation.The story is more a clean international mystery than Cozy, but it is a great read with wonderfully layered characters, plenty of suspense, and a classic whodunnit ending. Needless to say, I will be back for more PIP investigations.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

… (plus d'informations)

In Nancy Jarvis’ “Buying Murder”, Regan McHenry, a savvy real estate agent from the Santa Cruz area, gets a call to list an old, unoccupied cottage on the beach and finds the spot so darling; she decides to buy it for herself. In a rush to make the purchase, Regan neglected to do the usual inspections before closing. Shortly after the purchase, Regan had a known inspector come over and take a peek and advise on some renovating when they realize that the house was already occupied…by a corpse. Regan, intent on finding out what happened to the soul that had rested inside the walls of the cottage for so long, embarks on a fact finding mission. Unfortunately, someone is on a mission of their own. A mission to silence Regan. Has she come to close to the murderer or is she dealing with a disgruntled son of an eviction she had assisted with?
This was the first of the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries I had the pleasure of reading and was not disappointed. Working in the real estate industry myself, I found Nancy’s views and perceptions spot on with reality. The story was very entertaining with a hint of eerie realism to it. While several times I would have bet my book money that I knew the outcome, within pages I would realize I was wrong. After doing this three times, I gave up on trying to speculate and just enjoyed the read. This is an easy reading, solid murder mystery that keeps you turning the pages and asking the ever famous question “who dunnit?”.
… (plus d'informations)