Murder Pays a Call

Keri Armstrong Mystery, #1

by

Nancy J. Cohen

Fun page-turner kicks off this new cozy mystery series.

Murder Pays a Call is the first book in veteran author Nancy J. Cohen’s new Keri Armstrong Mystery series and proves itself to be a fun, page-turner of a debut. Keri Armstrong is devastated when she finds her friend, mentor, and biggest concierge client, Fiona Sullivan, murdered at her home. But when the police decide Fiona was the victim of a random home burglary, Keri’s not convinced. Too many rumors immediately began to circulate that Fiona had made plenty of enemies, and one of them had taken their ire to this next level. When law enforcement dusts its hands of the tragedy, Keri becomes determined to get the truth behind her friend’s death and the vicious gossip. With its engaging main character and intriguing variety of secondary ones, this light new cozy is sure to please the author’s legion of fans and cozy mystery readers new to her work. 

Keri Armstrong is the delightful young protagonist, and I really enjoyed getting to know her and the other characters in her world. The little town of Sunny Groves, Florida, also seemed a charming setting as the calendar entered November and approached the holiday season, albeit with an undercurrent of unrest, secrets, and jealousy lurking under the surface. The victim, Fiona Sullivan, is a nice older woman dedicated to good works, but after her shocking murder, detractors started to come out of the woodwork, opening up the list of possible suspects to a broader range. Keri investigates because the police settle on “random robbery gone wrong” as the cause of death, but with the alarming revelations of Fiona’s critics, she thinks they’re mistaken and is compelled to see justice done for her friend. I liked the concept of Keri’s concierge service, but I was approaching exhaustion with the number of small tasks she performed for her clients and her ability to keep everyone and everything straight. I need a Keri. This novel provided a very pleasant evening of feet-up, kicked-back cozy mystery entertainment. 

I recommend MURDER PAYS A CALL to cozy mystery readers, especially fans of the author’s previous work. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.