Murder by Death

This book is an perfect example of why I dislike foreshadowing as story-telling device in my books.  The author did it so well at the beginning that in spite of the fact that I was loving the writing and the characters, she filled me with dread about what was going to happen and I put the book down because I kept finding other things to do.

Once I hunkered down and started really reading, I didn't want to put it down; a lot of the story is far-fetched, but it's marketed as a "caper" so expectations are set from the cover, and the writing, the mystery solving, the delightfully flawed-character are all so well done and entertaining.  Foreshadowing or not, I enjoyed the bejeezus out of this book.

To anyone who might want to check it out and they read the summary, I'd just like to point out that while accurate enough it sort of gives readers the wrong impression about what to expect:  "doppelgänger" would have been a better word choice than "twin", and the ex-ex-husband's role was... atypical.

In spite of the story definitely being a caper - an almost mad-cap one - the MC has hidden depths, and I adore her adoration of her daddy; there were a lot of parallels between her father-daughter relationship and the one I had with my daddy (yes, "daddy" - it's a Southern thing).  Those scenes probably account for that 1/2 star, because they no doubt upped my enjoyment of the whole book.  Some might take exception to the insta-love, but I lumped it in under the caper thing and just rolled with it.

I'll read the next one, but even at 4.5 stars, I don't feel like I have to rush out to get it right away.  This story ended really nicely with all the questions answered.  Highly recommended if you're looking for a caper that isn't silly or slapstick.