I read "Hiding Gladys" over two evenings, a pleasant-enough way to pass the time. The book moved along at a good pace, with a few red herrings, but the narrative prose seemed a little odd to me at times - too self conscious and wordy, rather than a natural flow.

The book's amateur detective, Cleo Cooper, came off as irritating and somewhat immature in her actions, both personal and professional. The situations she found herself in - and the actions she took to extricate herself - became more and more improbable as the book went on. For a cozy mystery, "Hiding Gladys" seemed very action-adventure-ish to me. I could have done with less whiskey, less gunplay, less running around, and more mystery.

The book's ending sets up Cleo for more adventures, but I don't think I'll be checking them out. ( )

My husband's review:
ok story goes like this,a geoligist named cleo cooper made a very profitable find on a large lot of land owned by a woman named gladys granite worth millions.she has an ironclad agreement to survey and eventually mine the material,seems simple huh,not quite she has a nasty suprise in her jeep as she is heading out to the farm a rattle snake,in a effort to seek help she runs into not one but two saviors,Nash Finley a smart nice geoelist who has delt with her in the past and seems to be very interested in her and Bud her ex-husband who also seems to want her back,her loyal dog Tulip is always by her side.after the incident when she heads back to the farm everything is not so easy as it seems,gladys is missing and her children are set to have her leave immediatly,undaunted by their threats and so called proof they have a power of attorney signed by their mother saying they now own the property.cleo starts about her business to survey the property aided by her workers known as stick and mule,but the job is more dangerious than it could ever be almost shot by an unknown person,a bridge giving way almost killing her and their crew and falling in a well to discover a body at the bottom.is it gladys or not,nash keeps showing up as well as bud worry about her safety.but as things keep unfolding she wonders who is responsible for the body at the well who can she trust and who is out to kill her,and most of all where is gladys? ( )

This is my first-ever cozy mystery. I suspected I wouldn't like it. I told the nice woman handing out the ARCs of this at the ALA booth that I was quite sure this wasn't my thing. It was early on at the conference, though, and I hadn't quite perfected my stony but cheery "Not my thing, thanks!" dismissal. So I took this, and since I took it, I felt an obligation to read it.

I can confirm that this is SO not my thing. As the publisher mentioned, the protagonist is not a typical gumshoe, but is a geologist by trade. Sadly, she's also got an ex-husband with whom she's not quite finished, and a slightly sinister handsome gentleman caller. There are bodies, there are many drinks, there are old women with gumption, there are oh, so many things I am bored with.

I didn't find the writing style particularly engaging. There was so much telling. So much. People were always sitting in wingback chairs, or drinking Jack Daniel's Black Label whiskey.

I don't feel qualified to select stars for the cozy mystery lovers, but I can say that for me it was a one-star sort of book.

Next ALA, I'm perfecting my "NO THANK YOU" stance well in advance. ( )

The Writing: For a debut novel, this is rather well done. The writing was short, sweet and to the point without losing the necessary descriptive detail. I enjoyed that it was also easy to read and made for a perfect fast read.

The Plot: I was intrigued by this geological mystery when I first heard about Hiding Gladys. What would have been nice was a less obvious plot twist. I had inklings near the middle of the novel and wasn’t too surprised about the mind behind all the shenanigans. I think I would have enjoyed this better if it had kept me more on my toes.

The Characters: Most of the focus is on the protagonist, Cleo Cooper. Problem with that, though, is I didn’t like her very much. She seemed nice at first but then I started to notice that she didn’t really act her age. She’s in her mid forties with children in their twenties, and yet she acts like a whiny teenager some times. I didn’t really make sense to me. I also didn’t like how she claimed to be all gun ho about strong independent women and not needing a man, but when the going got tough she would look to a man. And then near the end she just made some really stupid decisions that had me face palming.

Overall: Despite Cleo grating on my nerves, I did enjoy this book quite a bit. I liked the mystery (even if it wasn’t too hard to figure out) and enjoyed the action within. I found it to be a wonderful ‘I feel like reading a mystery this afternoon’ type of novel. You know those late afternoons or evenings when you want to read a short and sweet mystery with a delicious glass of wine (or beer or chocolate milk if that fits your fancy). I would definitely read book two should the occasion arise. ( )