Thursday, February 10, 2011

Murder is a Family Business by Heather Haven



There's a lot to like about this story. You got a 34 year old strong Latina woman, Lee Alvarez with a closet full of designer clothes, a classic car, and a kitten named Tugger (cause he tugs on your heartstrings.) Plus, this chick is a P.I. and part owner of an elite investigative company that specializes in computer and technology and theft and.. stuff.  That stuff rarely includes stake outs on cheating husbands, but because of a special request from a friend of the family, Lee finds herself on one and the cheating husband being spied upon winds up dead. No, she didn't do it..

But events that follow have others thinking she did.. Lee keeps finding herself in all the wrong places at the wrong times and ends up uncovering more than she bargained for. This is a mystery so I can't reveal too much, but let's just say Lee ends up in the hospital with chopped off hair that thankfully gets salvaged into this look:

Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"
 I knew whodunit long before it was officially revealed. Call it a hunch or a nagging feeling, but I enjoyed the story and how it was told. I especially like the heroine and her wit and the funny way she expresses her thoughts, like comparing her mother's friend to a dog.. LOL She's also real. She gets saved, but also does some saving of her own. She's not Super Woman, but neither is she is damsel in distress.

Something else that I really like is the way it educates readers about San Francisco. It mentions numerous historical places or streets with interesting facts about them. However, it is incorporated into the story. For example, I have been to Coit Tower, but I never realized until reading it in here, that the building was intended to look like a fire hose.


5 stars. I received this ebook from the publisher and I understand it is the first in a series, The Alvarez Family Murder Mystery Series.


9 comments:

  1. Great review. Tugger on the cover makes you just want to melt. I too love the sassy wit that is so much a part of the author, Heather Haven. She is amazing.

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  2. OMG! What a great review! And Tara sooo got the character of Lee! She is a fun, savvy woman, not perfect but close enough, who, like the rest of us, saves and needs saving every now and then. They are my little family and I love them. Thank you so very much for getting that.

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  3. Fab review and gracious acknowledgement. Sounds like a very fun read with some twists. Very interested to see how Lee's hair got chopped off. I'm more of a dog person but Tugger may make me change my mind. Congrats Heather.

    KarenC

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  4. What can I say....Book Babe nailed it.

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  5. Congratulations Heather - not only are you published, but your hard work came to fruition with a sparkling review as well. Impressive review, definitely makes me want to read it.

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  6. Excellent reveiw, Congratulations, Heather! Can't wait to read this!

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  7. WHoo hoo Heather. Huge congrats on a job well done!
    Regards,
    Christine London

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  8. Thanks to everyone for stopping by my blog and glad you all enjoyed the review. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

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  9. Very nice, Heather. Keep 'em coming.

    Greg McCarty

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