Book 2, 2024

[chez_jae]

Tall Men and Strangers by Lizzie Lewis

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I completed an ebook last night: Tall Men and Strangers by Lizzie Lewis. It's the first in the "Abi Button" series of cozy mysteries. Story is in first person, via the main character, Abigail "Abi" Button.

Abi isn't actively looking for romance until it comes knocking at her door. When she steps outside of her home to see what is going on at an elderly neighbor's house, she meets the woman's nephew, Jack. He introduces her to his aunt, Ivy, and she and Abi build an instant rapport. When Ivy tells Abi that she believes someone is coming into her house at night, Abi insists it's just the old house settling, or perhaps noisy neighbors. Ivy isn't convinced, however, and she gives Abi a small silver key and tells her to keep it a secret. In the meantime, Jack and Abi begin dating, and he even takes her to his church, where she encounters Danny, whom she shared a kiss with in school. When Ivy passes away, Abi learns what the key is for, which unleashes drama she hadn't counted on and leaving her wondering if Ivy truly died of natural causes.

Well now. The story was okay. Some things had me raising my eyebrows, such as how quickly Abi fancied herself falling in love with Jack, yet still being attracted to Danny. Also, after church was introduced, the story became rather preachy. I don't mind that a character is religious, but I do mind when that begins to color everything in the book. Characterizations weren't all that great. Abi came across as a bit of a dithering ditz, and I was dismayed to see how often she skived off work (she co-owns a coffee shop, so it's not like she was going to be fired, but still).

Favorite line: Presumably burglars no longer wear striped jumpers and carry a bag marked swag.

This probably would have earned an average score from me, but the sudden religion peddling drops it to a two.