One of You (Tower District Mysteries)
Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – The Tower District of Fresno, CA
Publisher : Mystery Rat’s Books (June 4, 2024)
About the Book
With her life on the California Coast behind her, Roxi Carlucci is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno, CA—where she now lives with her cousin P.I. Stephen Carlucci, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan. She has a new entertainment podcast, works as a part-time P.I., and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween!
She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District simply because she found a dead body when she first arrived. But when one of the Mysteryfest authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again. Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents?
Review
The Mysteryfest is stressful enough without the murder. As the story builds up, Ham gives the impression that the murder - and, of course, there's a murder - will be of the one no one has a kind word for. Not wanting to give it away, but with a small cast of "celebrities" and the erstwhile publisher and tyrant, it's all about jealousy and competition. Or is it? The Tower gossip tweets are back and it's not clear whose offering the hints or why. She or he might know the answer.
This is the second in the Tower District Series, but easily read as a stand-alone. Roxi's still trying to get her bearings but is in the thick of things trying to figure out who the killer is and why. The main characters are well-developed; the quirky ones are definitely quirky. This was a fun read. Cozy mystery lovers will enjoy the Tower District Series.
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.
The Tower District Series
One of Us
One of You
About the Author
Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper, and publish 7 mystery novels.
For the past 14 years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, where you can hear an excerpt of her book (link below).
You can learn more about Lorie and her writing here:
Purchase Links
Amazon ~ Barnes&Noble ~ Kobo