A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump

Available February 8, 2022

Samantha Warren has lost everything. Her job, her dream home, even her fiancé. When a friend offers her the chance to hock what would have been the gifts for her wedding guests on what should have been her wedding night, she jumps at the chance to kill two birds with one stone. Instead of spending the evening recouping some of the costs of the wedding-that-wasn't and keeping herself from wallowing in self-pity, Samantha finds herself knee-deep in a murder investigation.

I really enjoyed this book. Though I've read hundreds of cozy mysteries this one was unique in a lot of ways. I haven't read many cozies set in Texas and most cozies are set in small towns, so getting a virtual tour of Houston and the little communities that make up the large city was really interesting. I've long been interested in historical preservation so that aspect was compelling too. Samantha having been an investigative reporter in her former career was a great angle, it gave her some insight into how to conduct an investigation and made it a no-brainer for her to pursue the truth.

The killer was pretty easy to identify but I don't think that took away from my enjoyment of the book. Despite knowing whodunnit there was still the question of how to prove it and what trouble would Samantha get herself into in the process. I also really liked the ending. Samantha has suffered a lot of loss but she's a fighter and she never loses faith that things will get better... therefore things do get better. Too many people think that hope is something that needs to be provided to them by someone else, but Samantha makes her own and you have to love her for that. I'm very much looking forward to continuing this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.