Book 27, 2022

A Flytrap Fiasco by P.A. Mason

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I finished an ebook last night. It was A Flytrap Fiasco by PA Mason, and it's a prequel of sorts for the author's "Trouble Down Under" series of cozy, witchy mysteries. As such, this was billed as "Trouble Down Under #0.5". Weird. The story is told in first person pov by the main character, witch Kat Crowe.

Kat has moved from Arkansas to California to be with her boyfriend, warlock Damon, who is a member of the powerful Carrington family. There, Kat has opened a hydroponic store, which allows her to continue working with plants. Horticulture is her magical affinity. Kat's pride and joy is a large venus flytrap named Pete. It's not the most glamorous job in the world, but Kat enjoys it until the day a man is murdered in her shop. Several suspects are brought to Kat's attention, including some of her regular customers and even Damon, whose family had a beef with the victim. Determined to find out if her boyfriend was involved, Kat indulges in some sleuthing of her own. When her investigation leads her into danger, Kat must rely on some unexpected allies to help her out.

The story wasn't very meaty, but that can be expected from a prequel. The only character I got a handle on was Kat; other characters were somewhat two-dimensional. The plot could have used some smoothing out, but editing seemed okay.

Favorite line: A feline stink eye wasn't enough to rattle my cage.

Rather mediocre. I'm vacillating between a score of two and three. Hmmmm...I'll be generous and give it a three.