Dead Men Don't Decorate by Cordy Abbot

Available Nov. 8, 2022

Rating: 4 stars

The local town menace meets his maker in the antiques shop he no longer owns. The new owner, mother of the newly elected town mayor, is a suspect... along with just about everyone else in town who had one reason or another to want him out of their lives.

Dead Men Don't Decorate is the debut novel for author Cordy Abbott and in the first few chapters it shows. The dialogue was stiff and the characters a bit cartoonish until the author hit their stride about half a dozen chapters in. Abbott did a lot of things really well, one being Marthasville which was the perfect quaint setting for a cozy series. Another being pacing, a steady flow of activity that kept the story moving and interesting throughout. There were a few things conspicuously missing. A big one for me is seeing the main character's home. I don't recall ever being introduced to Camille's home, which is something I enjoy seeing as a way of getting to know the main character better. Another was any mention of her history other than very recent: quitting community college teaching gig, son elected mayor (who was immaculately conceived since there's no mention of a father?)

Overall this was a solid start to a new series and many of the things I felt were missing could be present in future books in the series, which I will certainly be reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.