Missing Pieces
by Cynthia Hickey;
Linda Baten Johnson;
Teresa Ives Lilly;
Janice Thompson
ISBN-13: 9781636092898
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Barbour Fiction
Released: June 1st 2022
Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
What could go wrong when jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts get together?
Elvis Has Left the Building by Cynthia Hickey
Cee Cee is hosting a jigsaw puzzle party in Apple Blossom, Arkansas, and everyone is expected to bring a brand-new 500-piece jigsaw puzzle to work on that depicts something from the 1950s. With a vintage car show, vendors, live music, and a dance, the night promises to be a great one—until the Elvis impersonator is murdered and a priceless puzzle is missing.
The Puzzle King by Linda Baten Johnson
Jane enters a jigsaw puzzle competition at the Fargo, North Dakota, fairgrounds. When a fellow competitor is poisoned, all suspects are confined at the hotel during the investigation, and Jane is determined to use her puzzle-solving skills to root out the killer.
A Puzzling Weekend by Teresa Ives Lilly
Tabitha’s first event at her new bed and breakfast in Pumpkin City, Pennsylvania, is a jigsaw puzzle mystery weekend. All is going well until the hired cook is found stabbed to death. As the prime suspect, Tabitha works with the handsome investigator—and two wily beagle dogs—to clear her name.
Mystery at the Jigsaw Swap by Janice Thompson
Mariah hopes to sell her puzzles at a jigsaw puzzle convention in Camden, Maine, at the historic opera house. But her most valuable puzzle ends up missing when another vendor is stabbed to death.
My Review:
Missing Pieces is a collection of 4 short story cozy mysteries. They contained no sex or bad language. Unfortunately, there wasn't a smart heroine in the bunch and most of the stories weren't very realistic.
"Elvis Has Left the Building" seemed like a parody mocking cozy mysteries since it was illogical and unrealistic. The department's newest patrol officer was sent to do crowd control at the jigsaw puzzle event. He apparently always had evidence collection bags on his person, was then assigned to solve the murder case, and soon was helping Cee Cee break into a suspect's house in search of evidence. Earlier, Cee Cee was the one to point out to him that the puzzle in front of them was the missing puzzle, then they ran off to investigate the death scream. The officer/ex-boyfriend promptly accused her of killing the victim because there's a dark hair (like hers) on this guy that she had talked to several times throughout the night. He also accused her of stealing the puzzle. And he's the romantic interest. That's not romantic, in my opinion. 1 star.
"The Puzzle King" had some interesting information about jigsaw puzzle competitions woven into the story. I strongly suspected whodunit from the moment the murder was discovered. The sheriff in charge of the investigation basically accused Jane of murder before they even knew it was murder, all because Jane had given him some coffee. Despite several people warning Jane not to be alone with any of the suspects, what does she do? And once she finally figured out who the murderer was, she still did several very stupid things (to increase the suspense, I guess). Jane was always dense, asking again for information she'd already been told or genuinely thinking that rules didn't apply to her. It was hard to respect her as a sleuth. Still, it wasn't a bad story. 3 stars.
"A Puzzling Weekend" at least reads like a genuine cozy right down to the cute dogs that help solve whodunit. The heroine secretly likes the handsome detective, who goes to her church. Though she's obviously framed for the murder, he believed that she was innocent because he'd previously observed her character and genuine Christianity. He accepted any gossip she overheard but warned her to be careful and let him do the actual interviews and such. Of course, she had to push it but got a confession. I guessed whodunit even before the murder happened, though. 3.75 stars.
"Mystery at the Jigsaw Swap" is a "bumbling detective" type mystery that's meant to be funny but was just painful for me to read. Mariah didn't think she was good at detective work and just thinking about who was where when her puzzle was stolen gave her a headache. She felt like a loser and failure, but solving the mystery made her feel more like a success. She seemed a little out of touch with reality, like thinking the detective might be mutually attracted to her while she's standing there covered with garbage and stink from a dumpster dive. Or that the police should delay their arrest until she could be there to watch. Mariah solved the mystery by overhearing clues and suspecting and then eliminating all of the suspects until the solution was obvious even to her. 2 stars.
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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