Book 24, 2024

[chez_jae]

A Deadly Restoration by Gillian Larkin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I began an ebook novella last night and read it in under an hour. Hmm. Eh, it had chapters so I'm counting it. The book was A Deadly Restoration by Gillian Larkin, and it's the second in her "Julia Blake" cozy mystery series. The main character is Julia, who cleans houses for a living.

After Julia's elderly next-door neighbor sells her home, the new owner begins a massive renovation. The noise is maddening, as are the arguments that Leo, the owner, seems to get into on a regular basis. It's no surprise, therefore, when Julia goes next door to investigate a wide open door and discovers Leo dead. Soon DI Clarke is on the case, but so is Julia. It's a complete accident when she stumbles on the clue that leads to the identity of the killer.

Not only was this rather short, but it lacked any meaningful substance. The clue that broke the case was found in such serendipitous circumstances that it seemed to negate any investigating at all. Characterizations were okaaaaay, but Julia came across more as a nosy busybody than a competent, concerned neighbor. Eh.

Favorite line: There's something so sad about cutting healthy trees down.

I can't justify scoring this any higher than two.