Book 32, 2021

Mind If I Come In by K.L. Phelps

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Since I had the day off work, I spent part of it finishing the ebook Mind If I Come In by KL Phelps. This is the first book in the "Kat Parker" series of cozy paranormal mysteries. Story is told in first person pov by Katrina 'Kat' Parker, recently wed, widowed, and newly possessed of the ability to communicate with people in comas.

Kat is drawn into a web of intrigue when she agrees to attempt communicating with the comatose daughter of a mob boss. Unfortunately, not only is Natasha suffering from a traumatic head injury, but her psyche has also been harmed. Kat is unable to get a clear read from her, except to learn that Natasha is terrified. In the meantime, Kat is dealing with her own drama. She doesn't recall her sudden Vegas wedding (nor the death of her new husband), she's sharing the home she inherited from Andrew with Jonny (a vampire with amnesia of his own), a detective she shared a hot kiss with in Vegas (Damian) has suddenly turned up in Houston, a turtle seems to have adopted her, her mother drops a bombshell on her, and her pool looks like a swamp. In spite of everything, Kat is determined to help Natasha. As she closes in on the truth, however, she may be the next one on a mobster's hit list.

The story was entertaining and downright funny in places, but there was a lot of useless filler included. The entire subplot of the pool could have been edited out without affecting the plot. Kat swooned and hit her head so many times I feared she'd be the one in a coma by the end of it. Aside from that, most people don't repeatedly pass out each time they receive a shock, ffs. The most aggravating aspect of the book is that I felt like I started reading in the middle of the series. Was there a prequel that I missed? I don't know. The author kept alluding to the events of Vegas (Kat fell in love with Andrew, married him, he died, she ended up in the hospital(?), she met Jonny and he accompanied her back to Houston, she met Damian and he followed her to Houston, her 'power' manifested itself, and I also got the vague impression that it was while Kat was in Vegas that the supernatural world was revealed to the world at large). It was confusing. Worst of all, the ending was abrupt and many things were left unresolved. Boo.

Favorite lines:
♦ My cooking skills were more or less maxed out at microwave dinners or mac and cheese.
♦ "I guess you could say I had a fight with my mom. I really don't want to talk about it." // "She clocked you from behind?" He seemed to consider it for a moment and then nodded. "Gotta respect that. After all, you've got age on your side. Element of surprise was her best strategy."
I laughed myself stupid over this exchange!
♦ I'd even been passed by an old lady who looked like she was late for her own funeral.
♦ "I mean, that was straight up Scooby-Doo crap."
♦ I thought the smug smile on his face was just begging for a baseball bat.
♦ Perhaps I needed to find a line of work that was a little safer, a little less physical. Maybe I could try out for the NHL.

I enjoyed the story and laughed out loud at some parts, but it was vexing enough that I'm giving it no more than an average score. Three stars