Book 58, 2021

[chez_jae]

Well Read, Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Since there was little left in my book at work, I brought it home to finish reading this weekend. It was Well Read, Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran, and it's the first book in the "Read 'Em and Eat" mystery series. The story is told in first person point of view by main character Mary "Sassy" Cabot.

Sassy and her BFF, Bridget (Bridgy) have combined their dreams and opened a bookstore cafe in Florida called Read 'Em and Eat. There, they serve up breakfast and lunch and host book club meetings in the afternoons. When one of their book club members, painfully shy Miss Delia Batson, is murdered, Delia's cousin Augusta insists that Sassy help find out who did the deed. Sassy would rather do just about anything else, but she doesn't want to disappoint Miss Augusta. Sassy turns her attention to some of the wreckers (scavenger hunters) in town, because Delia owned a small island in the Keys and refused to sell it. There's also a brusque real estate developer who was eyeing Delia's island as a potential site for a luxury resort. While the police who are working the case admonish her to stay out of it, both Bridgy and her Aunt Ophelia continue to encourage Sassy to investigate. Will Sassy's nosing around reveal a killer or will she end up the next victim?

For the most part, this was a likable story. However, it frustrated and annoyed me to no end that so many other characters were pushy, condescending, and even downright rude to Sassy and she just meekly tolerated it. Grow a spine! Bridgy kept harping at her to tell the police this or that, when she could have done so herself. The pastor's wife was a shrew, and even Aunt Ophie took it upon herself to scold Sassy for what she was wearing in her own home. My claws would have been out by then, but maybe that's just me. The day I tolerate people speaking to me or treating me like that will be the day I'm drooling in my oatmeal. As for the romantic interest, it seems at this point to be a toss-up between Cady, the journalist who obviously carries a torch for Sassy, and the asshole detective. Because, what's a cozy mystery if the main character's love interest isn't someone in law enforcement who's an utter ass to her initially? That sound you heard was my eyes rolling.

Characterizations were good, plot flowed well, and the resolution was satisfying. Also, I sussed out the killer early on. Called it!

Favorite lines:
♦ "Don't get all cray-cray. You look like you're trying out for a remake of The Exorcist."
♦ "...the older I get, the more I realize how complicated life is. Why should death be any less so?"
♦ Lieutenant Anthony moved directly to apoplectic. He did not pass go. He did not collect two hundred dollars.

Wavering on a score here--three or four? Trope test time!


1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique? Yes, she works in a bookstore/cafe.
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? No, she does not.
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) Possibly...
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? No pets
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No, Bridgy is neither gay nor ditzy.
6. Did the mc find the body? No, she did not.
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? Yes
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes, she is both absent and ditzy.
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? Yes, Bridgy's Aunt Ophie
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes

Hmm, there were 5 "yes" answers, 4 "no" answers, and a "possibly". By my reckoning, this puts the trope test at 5 1/2 yes answers, which pushes it into the realm of tropey (if that's not a word, it is now). Therefore, the book earns 3 stars as an average, tropey read.