Review and Giveaway: Geared for the Grave

Geared for the Grave (Cycle Path Mystery - Book 1) by Duffy Brown

Publication Date: 12/02/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Criem
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425268942
ISBN-13: 978-0425268940

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Duffy Brown on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Excerpt from, Geared for the Grave, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature.

Synopsis:

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

Mackinac Island is a peaceful summer resort town where everyone coasts through the streets on bicycles. But after someone sends a prominent local on her final ride, it’s up to one resourceful visitor to get things running again…
 
Hoping to shift her chances of a promotion in her favor, Evie Bloomfield heads to Mackinac Island to assist her boss’s father. Rudy Randolph has broken his leg and operating his bike shop, Rudy’s Rides, is too much to handle by himself. But Evie’s good turn only leads to more trouble…
 
After Evie’s arrival, wealthy resident Bunny Harrington dies in what looks like a freak bike accident. Upon closer inspection, Bunny’s brakes were tampered with, and now the prime suspect in her murder is also Bunny’s number one enemy: Rudy. So if Evie hopes to stay on her boss’s good side, she’ll need to steer Rudy clear of jail. Now she must quickly solve this mystery so she can put the brakes on the real killer’s plan…

Thoughts:

Readers who love Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop series will be jumping for joy with the first book in a new series from the author. Geared for the Grave is the first book in Brown's Cycle Path mystery series, set on Mackinac Island in Michigan. With a great island setting, lots of humor and a murder, what more could you ask for in a great new cozy mystery? Colorful characters and tons of humor make this a cozy must read!

What I liked:

Mackinac Island is a real place. It is an island on Lake Huron in Michigan and to many it is a magical place. It is basically an eight mile wide tourist resort with lots of quaint shops and local eateries, fudge shops and bicycle rental places. Just like in Duffy Brown's new book, Geared for the Grave. I love it when an author uses a real setting to base their work on. It makes the reader feel like they have the opportunity to go beyond the book and visit the setting. It sounds absolutely magical both in the book and online. 

This is such a great island setting. I loved the laid back feeling I got from reading this book. I don't know what it is about an island community but everything seems idyllic and easy going, unless a murder occurs. The island residents get a little crazy when it comes to anything messing up the final push of the summer tourist season and when a local loud mouth ends up dead, that's a problem. Brown did such a great job of making Mackinac Island come to life in this book. From it's non-motorized transportation to it's unique way the locals looked at the "fudgies" (non-locals). Just an all around great setting.

Brown populates her version of Mackinac with some pretty quirky characters that readers are sure to fall in love with. Evie is a great heroine for a lot of reasons. She is looking to get a promotion from her boss in Chicago when she finds out the bosses father, Rudy, on Mackinac Island is need of help sprucing up the place after a broken leg. What she doesn't expect, is a murder. Brown writes Evie like a fish out of water in the beginning and it was fun to watch the island it's people grow on her as she tries to prove Rudy's innocence. She is somewhat like a bull in a china shop and there is lots of humor to go around.

Brown never disappoints when it comes to humor. All of her books will keep readers rolling in laughter but this one in particular is quite amusing mostly because of the fun characters. I loved Irish Donna and her thick brogue. She didn't really fit the setting, but Mackinac apparently has an eclectic bunch of residents, at least in Brown's part of it. I liked the romantic air between Evie and the temporary sheriff as well. Sutter was sexy and fun to read about, if he was a little slow investigating. But my favorite character had to be Rudy. At first he seemed like a curmudgeony old guy but then he started to grow on me. Brown did an amazing job with the characters in this one from Evie to Irma. 

The mystery itself was quite nice. It was different. Bunny was apparently not too friendly with most residents of the island and was trying to get Rudy's shop shut down. Which made Rudy suspect number one. But there were plenty more for such a small island and I thought Brown did a great job of bringing in new suspects and clicking them off as Evie proved they were not involved. I didn't figure it too early and the conclusion was satisfying. 

Bottom Line:

I really enjoyed this one. I think Brown is really on to something with this series. The characters were eccentric and fun and just what you'd expect from a resort island community. The setting was amazing and this one was not too easy to predict. I loved it!

Geared for the Grave is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Duffy Brown is the national bestselling author of the Consignment Shop Mysteries, including Pearls in Poison, Killer in Crinolines, and Iced Chiffon. She loves anything with a mystery. While other girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, and works at a consignment shop when she’s not busy conjuring up whodunit stories.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Geared for the Grave by Duffy Brown.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, December 29th.

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