Well, house renovations and contests are the vehicle for Sarah Strohmeyer’s latest book. We Love to Entertain. But it’s not all fun and games - there’s murder in the mix.
Is this a cozy mystery you ask? I would say yes, to a degree it is. But, instead of a retired librarian who loves tea and scones, we have we have Kim the town clerk and her (not so often helpful) assistant Doreen. Kim’s daughter Erika is working on the set of the reno. We Love to Entertain is told through alternating chapters from Kim and Erika. Kim sees things as they and worries about her daughter who comes up with excuses time and time again for what's happening. There’s definitely trouble on the set. Strohmeyer plants a number of red herrings along the path to the final whodunit. And what is happening you ask? Well, I'm not going to spoil the book for you, so I'll leave it for you to find that out. Suffice to say, it's a clever plot that I think takes inspiration from Strohmeyer's own life. She too is an elected town clerk in a small Vermont town.
I really enjoyed the skewering of the whole house reno/decorate thing. The reno couple, Holly and Robert, have the funniest (and spot on) newsletters and blog post. We also get a behind the curtain look at what it takes to achieve that final reveal. And I bet Strohmyers depiction isn’t that far from the truth!
We Love to Entertain was a fun read with lots of humor, a good plot - and a few bodies.
See for yourself - read an excerpt of We Love to Entertain.
2 comments:
I've had my eye on this book because I'm a fan of home reno shows myself, so it was interesting to read your thoughts on it. Something tells me it's going to be added to my TBR pile soon. :-)
Definitely a lighter murder mystery. But lots of fun to read! Enjoy Cathy!
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