Barrett avoids the Cabot Cove syndrome in this enjoyable mystery, with a victim from the outside. She has all of the elements essential for a strong entry in a cozy series: family, a little romance, recipes and food, a cat named Miss Marple, books, and a little humor. In this case, the humor comes about through a problem that is actually serious, protected Canadian geese taking over the town, pooping on the sidewalks. Tricia is doing a little better overcoming the long-held rivalry with her sister, Angelica. Angelica still has work to do on her domineering habits. And, Tricia has some insecurity to overcome, after her divorce. This is a cozy series with developing characters.
But even lovelier is the fact that based on the book, Lesa has changed the signature line on her e-mails:
"Libraries are the best value you can get for your tax dollars."
-- Lorna Barrett, Bookmarked for Death
Whoa, is that cool, or what? (And more importantly--it's true!)
