Summary:

A little bit of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart

After being laid off from her job as a librarian at a small college, Gladwynn Grant isn’t sure what her next step in life is. When a job as a small-town newspaper reporter opens up in the town her grandmother Lucinda Grant lives in, she decides to take it to get away from a lot of things – Bennett Steele for one.

Lucinda has been living alone since Gladwynn’s grandfather passed away six years ago and she isn’t a take-it-easy, rock-on-your-front-porch kind of grandma. She’s always on the go and lately, she’s been on the go with a man who Gladwynn doesn’t know.

Gladwynn thought Brookstone was a small, quiet town, but within a few days of being there, she has to rethink that notion. Someone has cut the bank loan officer’s brakes, threatening letters are being sent, and memories of a jewelry theft from the 1990s have everyone looking at the cold case again.

What, if anything, will Gladwynn uncover about her new hometown and her grandmother’s new male friend? And what will she do about her grandmother’s attempt to set her up with the handsome Pastor Luke Callahan?

Find out in this modern mystery with a vintage feel.

My Thoughts:

I was looking forward to this one, as I am on a cozy mystery binge right now – I love a small town setting, cats, quirky characters, and an independent main character, and this book had all of those things! The actual mystery for me is sometimes secondary to setting and characters, does that make me weird? Anyway, with just those things we were already off to a good start.

Howeler, however, ties all these elements into one whopper of a mystery! There is just so much going on in little Brookstone – a not-so-sleepy small town. Gladwynn is nervous about her new job, as it has been a while since she worked on her college newspaper, but it turns out she has a nose for news as she uncovers secret after secret. She is a digger and not a quitter, and can’t stop won’t stop once she gets an idea. Nothing stands in her way – not a field of mud while wearing red high heels, or local law enforcement telling her to leave it to the professionals.

Her grandma has a bit of a romance going on, and Gladwynn is not so sure how she feels about it – just who is this man her grandmother is hanging around with? As for Gladwynn, is there romance on the horizon? “You will have to keep reading to find out”, is what I was told by Howeler when I asked her about a potential hopeful. And keep reading I will, as I loved this book.

I enjoyed the book, meeting the characters and the town, the crazy mystery that had so many components , but I liked the ending most of all. Gladwynn grabs hold of her life in the end, and while I felt like Gladwynn was a bit unsure and unsteady during the course of the book, I felt in the end, she put her foot down and declared what she wants. It was such a powerful way to end the book, and I loved it. I can’t wait to read more about Gladwynn, Lucinda, and their cats Scout and Pixel!

You can find a copy of the book here, and Howeler’s website here.