Think Murder

by Cassidy Salem

Think Murder is a light mystery with a good plot that had some very interesting political turns to it. The case itself felt real and I could easily imagine a thing like this happening in real life, so the true story feeling is definitely a huge plus for me.

It was easy to read and the story progressed at an even pace. I did get the feeling this was more like a romance novel than a mystery to me though. Which definitely doesn’t have to be a bad thing at all, and for those who like to read romance with a hint of mystery, this is a very good novel. But personally, I would have wanted some more mystery though, but that is just me.

The main character, Adina, is well developed and as a reader I got a good sense of who she was. I think the other characters could have benefited from some more detail, and it was at times hard to picture the other people around Adina. There were also many characters that could have been brought in to the murder investigation as red herrings, but unfortunately they was just there as friends and coworkers.

Adina and Hilary are two young women working together at a think tank, and they seem to be very good friends. This makes me feel like Adina’s reaction to Hilary’s death is a bit off. She is devastated at first, but then a day later she seems more focused on hot guys around her and her emotions about the murder doesn’t feel very genuine to me. But perhaps the two women weren’t as good friends as I thought.

When Adina takes over Hilary’s work, bad things start to happen to her and she realizes she may be in danger. This gives the story a nice turn and the mystery of Hilary’s death is starting to unravel. Unfortunately I found the writing style to be a bit awkward, making it hard for me to follow along in the development of the mystery at times. And it felt like the core of the story got lost under page after page of rather uneventful things and conversations that only repeated an event that just had happened. There was a lot of “how are you doing?” questions from countless friends. I would have wanted to see that these conversations were there to add conflict and tension rather than simply sympathizing with Adina.

Had Adina been more active in the investigation, trying harder to find clues and maybe even having some of her friends being the prime suspect for some time, the story would have gained another star. But I felt like the story lacked surprises and that perfect climax in the end.

Still, if you like cozy mysteries with a big splash of romance, this is a novel you will enjoy. So be sure to read it.

You can get it at Amazon