Going Through the Notions by Cate Price

Going Through the Notions by Cate Price ISBN-13: 9780425258798 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: September 3, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
While her husband renovates their old house, Daisy happily runs her small shop, Sometimes a Great Notion, selling sewing bits and bobs, antiques, and jewelry.

Daisy has her eye on an antique dollhouse and a classic Singer Featherweight at the local auction until her friend and mentor, auctioneer Angus Backstead, is led away in handcuffs. He's accused of bashing in the head of a drinking buddy over a missing set of fancy fountain pens. Daisy’s sure the sprightly old-timer couldn't have done it, but the detective has an old grudge against Angus. Angus' friends start doubting him after no new evidence turns up, but Daisy isn't about to give up on her friend.


My Review:
Going Through the Notions is a general fiction with moments of thriller and mystery. It starts out like a normal cozy mystery, and I liked how Daisy was kind and seemed smart. Then the facade of the perfect family falls apart, and Daisy isn't sure what to do. I liked the depth that this realistic family conflict gave the characters. Then the story turned into a thriller. A side thread of the story puts Daisy in serious danger several times, but this isn't completely wrapped up as we're never sure who shot at her.

I was also disappointed with how the mystery ended. I strongly suspected whodunit long before Daisy. It was realistic that Daisy didn't suspect even though she had a faint feeling that she was missing something obvious. When she figures it out, though, she rushes off to put herself if mortal danger without telling anyone or calling the police even though she was surrounded by friends during her "aha!" moment. She had the presence of mind to think through avoiding a traffic jam, yet she simply hopes that the detective will figure out whodunit, too, and make it there in time to save her. Um, not smart.

I also didn't like how Daisy treated her husband. Daisy calls to set up a dinner date with him, then impatiently hurries her friend along so she can get home. But, suddenly, she has to drive way out of her way to do an errand that could be done anytime. She follows that up by doing two chores in her shop that could be done anytime, and she doesn't even have the courtesy to call her husband and tell him that she'll be late.

So the clue-based mystery--what there was of it--was clever and even made Angus seem like a valid suspect. The thriller scenes were thrilling. The characters were complex, flawed, and realistic. I simply ended up with no respect for the heroine by the end. There were no graphic sex scenes. There was a fair amount of a wide variety of explicit bad language (averaging about 1 bad word every 2 pages).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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