With Elliot Lisbon, author Kendel Lynn creates a character who is resourceful, determined, and willing to get her hands dirty. That’s saying a lot considering she’s addicted to hand sanitizer! Elli is used to dealing with “discreet inquiries” for members of the board of the Ballantyne where she acts as director, but when one member is found murdered and another suspected of the deed, she’s left with a mess worse than barbeque sauce spilled on a white cotton tablecloth. Chemistry between Elli and local police lieutent Ransom sizzles on page one and keeps going until the end. I love this new series and can’t wait for book 2! ( )

Elliott Lisbon, the director of a charitable foundation, is the protagonist in this new series. The locale is an island in the lowcountry of North Carolina. A board member of the foundation is killed and Elliott must clear another board member of the murder accusation.

The story was amusing. The romantic triangle with an old beau and a new one was exceedingly formulaic, however. The mystery was very well done.

While I enjoyed the book, I may or may not buy another in the series.
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Elliott Lisbon is a woman with a mission. She runs the Ballantyne Foundation and does PI work on the side at the request of the founder. Her world is a bit crazy, but she can handle it with enough hand sanitizer.

That is, until one of the board members is killed, and she finds out that her mentor at the police station retired without telling her. Even worse, his replacement is the boyfriend who abandoned her years ago, and he's only gotten hotter in the years since.

Elliott has to dodge Ransom's disapproving control freakism as she desperately searches for the killer before he arrests the wrong person.

I recommend this to anyone who likes a whacky group of characters and a lot of kookie humor with their mystery. I reviewed book 2, Whack Job, if you want to know how the series progresses. ( )

A very strong first book. Excellent, vivid characters. Almost-tropical island setting. A sprinkle of humour, and a bit of sexual tension to keep things fun. The mystery was very well crafted and I think the author did an excellent job of hiding the murderer in plain site. There were a few slapstick moments in the book - you either like slapstick or you don't. The only moment I found I could have done without involved getting into a poker game, and I'll leave it at that. It all turned out well, but it just seemed too over-the-top. I'm also not loving the possibility of a love triangle - no thank you, they never end up being interesting (unless your last name is Evanovich, and frankly, I can't figure out how she manages to pull it off).

All in all a very fun read - it kept my interest from beginning to end and I only had to skip about a page of internal dialogue. I rate that as a success! :) I'll be looking for the next book and hope Ransom is in for the long haul. ( )

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