I loved that Nora left her life in San Francisco to travel to Florida to see about an inheritance from an uncle that she had never known about, and once there she found that a very large dog, a humongous home, and a bookstore was included also. When it was revealed that Uncle Walter had been poisoned, she and her friends went to work to figure out who the killer was. With break ins at the bookstore and Walter's friendship with the Mafia, she knows that the little group has to solve the murder before she can be the next body in the books!! ( )

Imagine living and working in California and receiving a telephone call from an attorney in St. Augustine, Florida, notifying you that an uncle you've never met has died and you are "the sole heir to his estate—including a dusty old bookstore at the fringe of the historic district." Now it's a month later, you've arrived at the attorney's office, and the incredible news simply keeps coming. This is the life of Nora Jones.

I loved the character of Nora Jones and as she met more and more individuals in Florida there's kindness and thoughtfulness to her actions even when she finds herself in the most astonishing situations. There is also a depth given to the secondary characters that provide an interesting group to help acclimate Nora to her new surroundings. As an introduction to this new cozy series it also automatically delights the reader knowing there is the potential for many future storylines.

All who love dogs will delight in meeting Margo, a greyhound, who has a personality all her own. Without giving Margo's secret away, I genuinely thought there was something she couldn't do. When I learned differently I could hardly stop laughing. It came as no surprise that the author has several dogs as the authenticity of how pets excel with non-verbal communication definitely brings smiles and laughter as Nora learns more about Margo.

As an introduction to the writing of Heather Huffman it was pure delight! I can't wait to read the next one! ( )

I didn't enjoy reading this book. I hoped that it would be a quick, fast read since it's under 150 pages but nope. Found it to be very slow going and not very compelling. It was written in a very bland style and I found the MC not very endearing. She's assertive but also rude, tactless and just ... meh.

The surrounding characters are supposed to be fun, quirky but it kind of falls flat. The mystery itself is quite good but the forced romance between the MC and the detective is just that... forced. I didn't think they really had any kind of chemistry.

This isn't a bad book. Just not very good either. ( )