All Sales Fatal (Mall Cop - Book 2) by Laura DiSilverio
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Penguin USA
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: Paperback, 288pp.
ISBN-13: 978-0425248034
ISBN: 0425248038
(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound
Books In The Series: Die
Buying (2011), All
Sales Fatal (2012)
Coverart: Click on the image for a clearer,larger picture of the books in this series.
Excerpt from All Sales Fatal Courtesy Of Amazon's Inside look Feature
Synopsis:
For mall cop E.J. Ferris, catching customers who “forgot to pay” is quite a change of pace from her former life in the military.
But when a real crisis heats up her climate-controlled domain, her old
instincts come back quicker than last year’s skinny jeans.
On good days, Fernglen Galleria
is a tranquil haven of capitalist splendor—but today is not one of those
days. Arriving for her morning shift, E.J. spots a sleeping homeless
person outside the east entrance. But the teenage boy turns out to be
neither homeless nor asleep. He is, however, dead.
With half the security cameras
sabotaged, no one can be sure what happened. E.J. is determined to help
solve the case—whether Homicide Detective Helland likes it or not.
Uncovering a deadly conspiracy right in her own mall, E.J is about to
catch a killer, or get put on lay-away for good…
Thoughts:
All Sales Fatal is the second book in the "Mall Cop" series by Laura Disilverio. This whodunit is a cozy mystery that features an ex-military heroine and her eccentric grandfather. Readers will love the main characters charm and wit and the many twists and turns of the plot. Disilverio has a distinctive voice and uses suspects and motives to her advantage. Who knew shopping at the Mall could get so complicated?
At first I wasn't sure a series about a mall cop would be that interesting. When I think of mall cops I generally think of them as the people who return missing items or help youngsters find their wayward parents. The returner of lost car keys and those who aren't really cops at all. But this series teaches the reader a lot about security in general and how important a mall cops job really is. The security of not only the shop keepers but the patrons as well is usually up to the mall cop. And when things go drastically wrong, it's still the mall cops job to figure it out.
E.J. Ferris is certainly not Paul Blart. She is very capable and resourceful. Disilverio treats readers to a character that will peak their interest and appeal to their patriotic side. As a former military cop, E.J. suffered an injury that will probably keep her from more active police work, but she still takes her job as a mall cop very seriously. And when a dead teenager is found outside the Fernglen Galleria E.J. knows something isn't quite right about the whole thing. When her boss ends up dead as well, it's evident that the two murders are related. I thought E.J.'s process of finding the clues, establishing the motives and nailing down the suspects was interesting and refreshing. Her take on investigating was original and felt realistic. Disilverio really does a good job with her character development and easily engages the reader with E.J's personal life as well as her professional life.
The premise of the novel was clever and the characters were able to back it up and make it interesting. Disilverio keeps the tension high throughout the novel, but also adds in a lot of wit and humor with E.J. and the rest of the supporting cast. E.J's grandfather is quite important to the series. He isn't just a doddering old man who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. He is essential to her process and is a character that is easy to relate to. Readers will love the way Grandpa Atherton helps E.J. with her investigation. Other side characters include E.J's love interests. Even at the end of the book readers will still be unsure who E.J. will end up with, but both the cookie seller and the detective are promising candidates. Disilverio does well with balancing E.J.'s personal interaction with those of her career and readers will appreciate the clear delineation between the two.
This is a promising series. This is only the second book in and has a lot of potential. The different areas and shops of the mall and their owners and operators give Disilverio a very vivid canvas to work with. She could take the series in a lot of different directions. The plot in All Sales Fatal was spot-on and full of surprises. The characters were well written and developed and the ending was very satisfying. The mystery is wrapped up by the end but there are still several questions to be answered about E.J.'s future as a mall cop and her love life, creating all the more reason for readers to tune in the next installment in this series.
At first I wasn't sure a series about a mall cop would be that interesting. When I think of mall cops I generally think of them as the people who return missing items or help youngsters find their wayward parents. The returner of lost car keys and those who aren't really cops at all. But this series teaches the reader a lot about security in general and how important a mall cops job really is. The security of not only the shop keepers but the patrons as well is usually up to the mall cop. And when things go drastically wrong, it's still the mall cops job to figure it out.
E.J. Ferris is certainly not Paul Blart. She is very capable and resourceful. Disilverio treats readers to a character that will peak their interest and appeal to their patriotic side. As a former military cop, E.J. suffered an injury that will probably keep her from more active police work, but she still takes her job as a mall cop very seriously. And when a dead teenager is found outside the Fernglen Galleria E.J. knows something isn't quite right about the whole thing. When her boss ends up dead as well, it's evident that the two murders are related. I thought E.J.'s process of finding the clues, establishing the motives and nailing down the suspects was interesting and refreshing. Her take on investigating was original and felt realistic. Disilverio really does a good job with her character development and easily engages the reader with E.J's personal life as well as her professional life.
The premise of the novel was clever and the characters were able to back it up and make it interesting. Disilverio keeps the tension high throughout the novel, but also adds in a lot of wit and humor with E.J. and the rest of the supporting cast. E.J's grandfather is quite important to the series. He isn't just a doddering old man who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. He is essential to her process and is a character that is easy to relate to. Readers will love the way Grandpa Atherton helps E.J. with her investigation. Other side characters include E.J's love interests. Even at the end of the book readers will still be unsure who E.J. will end up with, but both the cookie seller and the detective are promising candidates. Disilverio does well with balancing E.J.'s personal interaction with those of her career and readers will appreciate the clear delineation between the two.
This is a promising series. This is only the second book in and has a lot of potential. The different areas and shops of the mall and their owners and operators give Disilverio a very vivid canvas to work with. She could take the series in a lot of different directions. The plot in All Sales Fatal was spot-on and full of surprises. The characters were well written and developed and the ending was very satisfying. The mystery is wrapped up by the end but there are still several questions to be answered about E.J.'s future as a mall cop and her love life, creating all the more reason for readers to tune in the next installment in this series.
All Sales Fatal is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
Laura DiSilverio spent twenty years as an Air Force intelligence
officer--serving as a squadron commander in England, English teacher at
the Air Force Academy, budgeteer at the National Reconnaissance Officer,
POW/MIA researcher in Bangkok, and in other positions--before retiring
to write and parent full-time. She lives in Colorado with her hubby,
tween-aged daughters (who are teaching her a lot about patience), and
Wire-haired Pointing Griffon.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway of one copy of All Sales Fatal by Laura DiSilveri
~You must be a GFC follow or an E-mail subscriber to participate.
~U.S. addresses only.
~Deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST June 6th.
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13 comments:
It sounds interesting. And, it's great that she is giving respect to mall cops everywhere.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Sounds like a good book, I'm adding it to my reading list.
Theresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com
this book sounds great to read.
I like the sound of this cozy. I haven't read the first one so I'm putting it on my wishlist.
I live a few minutes from the Mall of America so I can appreciate what all the mall cops do. This sounds like a terrific series and I like the fact that grandpa is involved!
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
I love way you put it, her "climate controlled environment and agree with Linda Kish that this cahracter is bringing respect to mall cops everywhere. I think this series is a welcome change to the usual cozies. I love cozies so much but it took imagination to think of this one.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I'm glad the main character is NOT like Paul Blart---instead she seems multi-dimensional and real. The mall should have plenty of opportunities for future cozies--I like the idea.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
This one sounds really good. Never really gave much thought to mall cops! I'd love to read this one.
Love cozie mysteries , have never read any involving a mall cop so this should be a good read for me
amhengst at verizon dot net
Thank you for the chance to win this next book in this series.
griperang at embarqmail dot com
Before reading this series I never really thought about what goes into doing the mall cops job. It certainly isn't an easy task that's for sure. Paul Blart was my only experience LOL!
Thanks for your honest review. Sounds like an interesting book.
Sounds like an interesting series worth giving a read to.
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