Book 40, 2025

[chez_jae]

Extra Sensory Deception by Allison Kingsley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I completed the book Extra Sensory Deception by Allison Kingsley last night. It’s the 4th in her “Raven’s Nest” series of cozy mysteries with a paranormal element. The main character is Clara Quinn.

Clara owns a bookshop, The Raven’s Nest, with her cousin, Stephanie. Clara has also inherited the Quinn Sense, which is an extra-sensory ability that allows her to tell if someone is lying, and she occasionally has visions. When Clara’s boyfriend, Rick, asks her to put up some posters for the rodeo coming to town, the clown on the poster leads her to a vision of death and danger. Rick is excited about the rodeo because one of his buddies, Wes, will be participating. He asks Clara to accompany him, and she reluctantly agrees. Clara is surprised to enjoy herself at the rodeo, until a woman is found dead and Wes is tabbed as the main suspect. Now Rick is asking Clara to question some of the female participants to see if they know of anyone who may have wanted to kill Lisa Warren. Although Clara has sworn off investigating murders, she and Stephanie are soon haring off hither and yon to follow up on leads. When Clara’s sleuthing hits too close to the truth, it’s her own life that may be in danger.

I liked aspects of this book and disliked others. Most of the narrative was taken up with Clara’s sleuthing. Even when she was at work or just out and about, she was trying to glean clues. I didn’t like that she and Stephanie misrepresented themselves to gain access to people who wouldn’t have given them the time of day otherwise. Clara’s mother was annoyingly meddlesome. I liked that she could communicate with her dog, Tatters. At the end, however, she did something so egregiously stupid that I could only shake my head. I mean, how dumb can you be? Other things that annoyed me:

- I took exception to “attempted murder by rodeo bull”. While it’s true rodeo bulls can be dangerous while performing, they tend to be mellow when they’re not. To suggest that a bull is going to charge a random person in an empty, darkened arena is needlessly dramatic.
- Rick pushing Clara to investigate, even though doing so has endangered her before was ten degrees of ‘Wow, buddy’. I mean, are you TRYING to get her killed?
- The murderer trying to kill Clara at the end. The person was going to hightail it out of town, so why bother trying to off Clara? This may have made more sense if the killer was local, not a transient character.

Favorite lines: “I’ve sworn off chasing after killers.” // “Since when?” // “Since I was nearly killed by one.”

“Didn’t know I was holding my breath” line: Clara let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

I liked some things, disliked others. Average score of three.


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, bed & breakfast? Yes, she works in a book store
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? No
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) No—woo!
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? Yes, she has a dog
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No (her BFF seems to be cousin Stephanie)
6. Did the mc find the body? No – Hallelujah!
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’s meddling
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? NA
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes