Dead-End Detective (A Piper and Porter Mystery Book 1)

Amanda Flower

Hallmark Pub.

August 25th, 2020

Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower is another winner.  She combines an eccentric senior citizen with a tree climbing cat, a private investigator, and an Army veteran that make for a fun-loving yet captivating mystery.

As with all her cozy mysteries, “The banter in all my books is very similar.  It is one of my favorite things to write. Those who I am close to do see how I tease.  I think it is an attractive quality to be able to come up with a quick come back.  My fiancé has a great wit and does it better than me.”

The story begins by introducing Darby Piper and her older friend and mentor, Samantha Porter, partners in the Two Girls Detective Agency in Herrington, N.Y. After Samantha tells Darby she is considering selling the agency and accepting an offer to be head of security at Lake Waters Retreat, a luxury resort, she is killed. Her car is forced off the road, with Darby becoming a prime suspect. Darby had expected to inherit Samantha’s half of the agency, but Samantha had recently changed the will to leave it to Tate Porter, her nephew, who returns to town. Tate is a world traveler and a veteran whose military past is also something of a mystery. To make matter worse, Darby’s former boyfriend, police detective Austin Caster suspects that Darby might be a prime person of interest. Although Tate and Darby are suspicious of each other they agree to work together to find Samantha’s killer. Racing against time, they must find the killer before Darby is arrested.

“Darby is a professional so I did not have to think of a scenario of why the average candy maker or matchmaker would be snooping around.  This makes it easier even if this story is in the cozy lane. She is tough, petite, loyal, driven, goal-oriented, and distrustful.  She questions everyone and everything, since she has been a PI for over ten years.”

I wrote Tate as fun-loving, straight-forward, athletic, confident, relaxed, and has his own coping mechanism.  He has a cool guy veneer. Because he has seen some pretty hard things in his past he puts on a façade.  If the series continues people will see a lot more of his past as he comes to grips with it.”  

Mixed with humor, suspense, and a gripping story, this is a home run.  Readers will have to wait possibly a whole year before the next installment, but thankfully they can read Flower’s other series coming out soon. Since this novel is part of Hallmark publishing, people can hope that it will be picked up by the Hallmark Channel.

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About the Author

Elise Cooper

Elise writes book reviews that always include a short author interview.