When Miranda Abbott's acting career as a detective takes a downward slide, she returns to a small town in an attempt to patch up her ailing marriage. Miranda becomes embroiled in a local theater production, and winds up trying to solve the suspicious death of one of the actors that occurred during a performance. The quirky locals hide their secret jealousies and grudges, and it is up to Miranda to use her sleuthing skills to help uncover the events leading to the tragic death onstage.

This is a rather slow-moving novel up to the last few chapters, and Miranda acts like an annoying prima donna throughout the book. Things are wrapped up in a scene worthy of Dame Agatha herself, although there are many complicated twists and turns to get there. The writers definitely took the opportunity to poke fun at both small townies and Hollywood actors.

I received this novel from NetGalley and from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own entirely. ( )

Actress Miranda Abbott is in a bit of a slump in her acting career - a fifteen year slump. After achieving fame as Pastor Fran - crime solver and karate chopper, her career has hit hard times. She's relying on her downtrodden assistant Andrews for paying her rent and taking care of her. She finally hits the bottom when her agent offers her the role of the grandmother in a Metamucil commercial.

Then she gets a postcard that takes her on a journey to her past - a sixteen hour bus journey. She winds up in Happy Rock, a very small town in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband Edgar had honeymooned there after Pastor Fran tanked. Edgar fell in love with the place and stayed by buying the local bookstore, but Miranda headed back to Hollywood. But now she has nowhere left to go.

Her happy dreams are dashed when she arrives only to have Edgar ask for a divorce. She winds up staying in a B&B owned by one of her biggest fans. Bea even has Pastor Fran nights where the old videotapes are dragged out and played again and again. Determined to ger back with her husband, Miranda auditions for the tenth annual presentation of Death Is the Dickens but only manages to get the one-line part of a maid who dies in the first act. The lead goes to Annette Baillie - former morning show star turned real estate agent and very much a local celebrity.

When Annette dies in the first act by drinking poison, it is up to Miranda and her new friends to solve the crime and free her now-ex-husband who has been arrested for the crime. There are lots of suspects from the local drama teacher who went to Yale and is constantly butting heads with Annette to the car mechanic who just can't remember his lines and whose business Annette threatened to the local teen Miranda beat out for the part of the dying maid.

This was an amusing story filled with caricatures more than characters. From the ditzy Miranda to the fanatic Bea and all the rest, the story is filled with intriguing people that I came to care about. I liked the way Miranda kept accusing suspects who were quickly proven innocent. She was persistent and did finally find the correct villain. ( )

I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson is a book that I found a challenge to finish (I wanted to quit reading after the first three pages). Miranda Abbott is an extremely unlikeable character. Miranda is so self-absorbed that I am surprised that she noticed someone was murdered. I believe the story is meant to be humorous, but I found myself cringing and rolling my eyes (instead of laughing). The story takes place in a cliched small town with unoriginal characters. The secondary characters are flat. The pacing is slow (snails move faster) and repetitious details (it was so bad that I knew the information by heart by the end of the book). The author spelled everything out to readers (like we are dimwitted nitwits). There are inconsistencies in the story as well. The murder does not happen until nearly halfway through the story (reminded me of trudging up a big hill on a very hot day—it takes forever to get there). The investigation by Miranda (who thinks she knows everything about investigating a whodunit from the character she played on a television series) is simple and so is the crime. The killer is obvious. I ended up skimming to the end (I was fed up with Miranda). The ending had me groaning in disbelief. I Only Read Murder was cliched, trite, and monotonous. ( )

Oh. my. gosh. It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud. But brothers Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson did just that - many times over with their new book, I Only Read Murder.
Miranda Abbott played a crime busting, karate kicking Pastor for many seasons on television. But, the offers are few and far between now. When a cryptic postcard arrives, she is sure things are on the upswing, so she happily packs her bags and heads to the small town of Happy Rock.

Here's the thing - Miranda still sees herself as a star. Her perceptions, actions, dialogue and certainty that she is still fodder for the gossip columns is priceless. "But no one recognized her, or if they did, they were too intimidated to approach."

Happy Rock is home to a large cast of quirky characters - all who could be found in the pages of a book. There are many characters but its very easy to remember who's who. Again, the interactions and dialogue is so very good. Much more laughing from me!

One of townsfolk is the owner of the local bookstore - that only sells murder mysteries. The one passion that the entire town has is their beloved yearly play. Hmm, could a role in it be a comeback for Miranda? And then, a cast member is killed. On stage. or And no one saw who did it. Perhaps Miranda's Pastor Fran skills, combined with the the knowledge that can be gleaned from a murder mystery book, could be of use? Especially the cozy mystery tactics!

The authors have excelled at weaving every facet of a cozy mystery into their homage - amateur sleuths, small town, quirky residents, misdirection, every player one is a suspect, no sex, overt violence or profanity. Instead it's a comfortable, entertaining, light hearted and truly very funny read. An easy five stars.

This is the first in a planned series. This reader can't wait for the next entry. ( )