A Novella. My Favorite Corpse centers around Ashley Sands, the owner of the mystery-themed Skullduggery Inn located on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. An amateur sleuth, Ashley finds a corpse washed to shore at her inn’s private beach. She must learn what happened before her guests begin checking out. While Ashley’s mystery weekend guests usually enjoy the occasional dead body, they prefer the never-previously-animated kind.
Skullduggery Inn Cozy Reads:
My Favorite Corpse
Mayhem on the Winterland Express
Suspects & Suitors
Something Borrowed, Something Deadly
About Kathy’s first mystery novel, Diary of a Confessions Queen:
Booklist *Starred Review* “Carmichael (Hot Flash, 2009) has created a thrilling whodunit in her trademark sassy, breezy style. Readers will enjoy her unique blend of humor and suspense.” –Shelley Mosley
"An intriguing mystery...a strong start, good characters and the writing flows well. The real problem is the ending, which is weak."
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
Finding a corpse is a problem for hotel owner Ashley. But when it vanishes before the police arrives, and she realises someone in the hotel is hiding something from her, she knows she has a real problem on her hands...particularly with the kittens that start appearing at the same time.
I picked this up expecting to slate it; after all it had a single one star on amazon. By chapter three I was beginning to think that was a bit unfair as the story had proceeded at a steady pace and the mystery was intriguing. Initially it was slightly too slow for me, but things picked up nicely when the body was found (as they generally do).
On finishing, one star really does seems a little unfair. It has a strong start, good characters and the writing flows well. Written in first person, the grammar errors are down to colloquial speech and acceptable as such and I spotted no typos.
That is not to say there aren't issues. A camera phone would have produced fast proof of the corpse, a point that is never answered, and most police officers will insist on interviewing both witnesses, not just one.
The real problem is the ending, which is weak. What has really been going on is left up to the characters' best guess, with no evidence or confirmation at all, and the dark hints dropped about Trevor throughout are never cleared up. While I can understand this as part of a series, the only plot thread really resolved is the cats. I would have expected the story's individual mystery to have a clearer resolution. Instead I found myself flipping past the word end, wondering where the rest of the story was and feeling a little let down.
It is still a nice introduction to the author's style, but the ending means I can't really give it more than a two. While I'd like to read more about Ashley and her inn, because they are good characters, I'd also like to check the ending first... As a free read though, it is a good way to sample the author's style. Rating:2
Well I think that the title alone is really enough to capture my attention, so I think that I am in. Of course it being a mystery story just makes it all the more set in stone that I am going to read it, and the more and more I read the more I realize how much I love a good mystery story. A weak ending is sad to hear, but maybe I will find some saving grace somewhere in there.
Seems like an interesting read. The one star thing is really something very common though. While not all works deserve five stars, they certainly don't deserve a one star either. As an author myself, I have had times when someone gave me a one star and didn't even write a reason for the review or anything. But, I must commend you for actually picking up a book with a negative review.
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