Book Review: "When Bobbie Sang the Blues" by Peggy Darty

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Another cozy winner

A year has passed since Christy Castleman solved her first murder in her hometown. Now as she's beginning to get settled down once again when her eccentric aunt comes to town. The exact opposite from Christy's mother, Aunt Bobbie has dreams about opening up a one of a kind antique store and recruits Christy to help her fulfill her wish. But then Bobbie's ex-husband is found dead in a pickle barrel inside the storage unit that belongs to Bobbie making her the number one suspect. Amid few clues and evidence that all point to her aunt, Christy once again uses her mystery novel skills to find out out who the real killer is.

Another winner from Peggy Darty! I enjoyed this book even more than the first. Bobbie is a great character because she's so spontaneous that you don't know what she's going to do next and I love her idea for a trash=treasures shop. She is a complete opposite of Christy's mother. While one strives for perfection, the other chooses to live for the day. Because of these differences, the two have been at odds over the years and it was nice for them to finally resolve their conflict. My favorite part of the book was when Christy had to go into character in trying to find out who the killer was. While she was in a dangerous situation, I found her airhead-ness a hoot simply because it was so out of character for her. Once again I was surprised at who the actual killer was. I prefer mystery stories when the culprit is someone we have already been introduced to, and not some random person we have no connections to, and this story doesn't disappoint. I'm also really happy for Jack's character as well. From the last book you could see he was lonely after his son's death, and now he has a reason to be happy again. The only thing I found confusing was that at the beginning of this book Christy and Dan are no longer a couple. At the end of Sandpiper they have begun their relationship, here it is already on the outs, without much of an explanation. I just felt like I was missing something as they both try to figure out their relationship. As for the rest of the story, it's superb. This is one of the best cozy mystery series out there, and I can't wait for another!

When Bobbie Sang the Blues by Peggy Darty is published by Waterbrook (2007)