Party planner Liv McKay loves her job but doesn't always love her clients, including her current clients the Erdman's who are being difficult over plans for their fortieth wedding anniversary party. Liv’s life is made even more difficult when she stumbles across not one but two dead bodies at the Erdman's house. Liv soon finds out that the murdered man worked for her husband and father-in-law and before she knows it she and her best friend Di are investigating the murders. They need to be careful though because not everyone they meet is who they seem to be and they may be unknowingly trusting a killer.

“Death Crashes the Party” is the nicely done first book in Vickie Fee’s Liv and Di in Dixie cozy mystery series. I say cozy mystery but this book is slightly edgier than most cozy mystery series I have read – it is not too violent but the themes are just a bit edgier than in most cozy mystery books. Mixed in with the edginess, however, is a sly sense of humor starting with the names Liv and Di and the book is worth reading just for the events at the Erdman's anniversary party! I like Liv as a character – she is great at her business, resourceful, loyal to those she loves, and willing to do whatever she can to help them - even if she has to break a law or two in order to do so! In fact, her relationship with those she loves - her husband, family, Di - is what drives this book and makes it such a good read. The mystery itself is very well plotted with many twists and turns - it is not too often that I am surprised when the identity of the killer is revealed in the mystery but I was totally shocked by the ending of this book!

“Death Crashes the Party” is a good mystery. ( )

This is the first book in the series "A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery". Liv and Di are best friends living in Dixie Tennessee and they are a force to be reckoned with. This was a fun, interesting mystery with just enough twists to keep me guessing.

Liv McKay owns Liv 4 Fun, a party planning business in Dixie Tennessee. Di, her best friend is a postal worker. They are more like sisters as they share everything with one another and give each other as good as she gets back. They are always there for one another and both plunge in to trouble without a thought. Liv is married to Larry Joe, who owns McKay trucking with his father, Daddy Wayne. Di is dating the sherriff, Dave.

IN this story Liv is busy planning an anniversary party for the Erdmans. When she checks out the freezer in the garage to store an ice sculpture, she finds a dead body and while falling back, stumbles over a second body in the garbage can. Of course she can't just let this be. The rumour is that perhaps the fact that the brothers worked for her husband means he might be involved has her hopping. When Daddy Wayne is brought in for questioning after drugs are found in one of his trucks, she ramps up her nosing around. Di is right there with her, although she is a little more cautious and often advises Liv to talk to Dave. Suffice it to say, they end up putting themselves in danger, but only the next book will tell if this causes them to slow down in their crime investigating.

All the characters in this book were well written. Their personalities were shown and they were all just a bit quirky, living in this small Southern town. The relationships were real and you could identify with the frustrations of Liv and Di as well as understand their enthusiasm for "helping" to solve the case. The end of the book includes tips for throwing a party based on the ones described in the story. I definitely want to read the next on in this wonderful series. I recommend this book to any cozy mystery lover who likes a little fun in their read. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee is the first book in A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery series. Olivia “Liv” McKay owns and runs Liv 4 Fun, a party planning business in Dixie, Tennessee. Liv is married to Larry Joe McKay who runs McKay Trucking with his father. Her best friend (and partner in crime) is Diana “Di” Souther. Di is the postal carrier for the town. Liv is busy planning an anniversary party for the Erdman’s who want conflicting themes. Liv ends up coming up with Moonshine and Magnolias (the husband wants redneck and the wife wants classy). While checking the freezer in the Erdman’s garage to see if it will hold the ice sculpture (Mrs. Erdman’s request), Liv finds a dead body. She jumps back, trips over a green trash can, knocks it over and finds another body. They turn out to be Duane and Darrell Farrell. They worked at McKay Trucking. Determined to clear McKay Trucking and the McKay name (since her husband and father-in-law are the prime suspects), Liv (with the help of Di) sets out to find the killer. Their methods are not very ethical (actually they are against the law), but they feel the results are worth it. Can Liv solve the murders and plan a party at the same time? Will Di and Liv be able to stay out of jail?

I found Death Crashes the Party to be easy to read. The mystery was good (there were some twists thrown in), but it was figuring out the killer that was a cinch. I found Death Crashes the Party to be a little superficial. It was lacking depth (and details). We did not get a lot of information on the characters. I also wish the murder had not happened right at the beginning. It needed a little more lead in before the crime (it makes for a long book). There is too much foul language in the book (especially for a cozy mystery). I do not think the foul language was needed. I give Death Crashes the Party 3 out of 5 stars. An interesting start to a new series. I will read the next book in the series to see if it improves.

I received a complimentary copy of Death Crashes the Party from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This book is a great start to a new series. It is set in a little town called Dixie in Tennessee. Love the down home small town feel. You start out getting to know Liv who is the owner of Liv 4 Fun a party planning business. She is getting ready for Mr and Mrs Erdman's 40th wedding anniversary party where she has Mrs Erdman wanting elegant southern charm and Mr Erdman wanting men dressed as bootleggers with moonshine. Yes, you guessed it Liv has her hands full with this party. One of the must have decorations for Mrs Erdman are ice sculptures. So she bought a freezer to put them in prior to the party. They went to check on the size when they found two dead bodies, one on ice and the other in a garbage bag. This is only the start of Liv's bad luck. The police find a connection to her father in laws trucking company, McKay's trucking. This puts everyone on edge and things go down hill from there.
Liv and her friend Di are on a mission to find the real killer or killers and save McKay's trucking. Will they be able to save themselves from trouble should be the real question???
These characters in Dixie are a hoot. I loved the southern charm and close knit family ties. Loved the humor along the way too. At times I was laughing out loud. The story line was well written and kept a steady pace. I really liked the fact that Liv was married. Not many cozies have a main character who is married and I loved how they interacted. The author brought out the close knit southern family, can't beat it. The characters were all great. Can't wait to get to know them better as the series progresses.
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. ( )